Manuela Ruiz Penella (2 March 1931 – 27 August 2007), better known as Emma Penella, was a Spanish film and television actress.

Biography

Manuela Ruiz Penella was born on 2 March 1931 in Madrid, the child of far-right politician Ramón Ruiz Alonso and actress Magdalena Penella Silva, thus she was also the granddaughter of actor Manuel Penella Moreno. Her younger sisters Elisa ("Elisa Montés") and Teresa ("Terele Pávez") also followed the family's acting footsteps. The three sisters renounced to using the Ruiz family name as an artistic name, in the wake of their father's involvement in the murder of Federico García Lorca. She featured in the 1952 film The Eyes Leave a Trace, ensuingly landing a larger degree of recognition with her performance in The Executioner. She was named best actress by the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos for Sentencia contra una mujer in 1962. In 1967, Emma Penella married producer Emiliano Piedra (died 1991). She died on 27 August 2007 at aged 76 by a sepsis caused due to her diabetes.

Selected filmography