Star of Pedro Almodovar’s Kika found dead in Madrid

Spanish actress Veronica Forque, who starred in Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar’s dark comedy “Kika”, has been found dead on Monday at her Madrid home after taking her own life, police said.

Forque, who turned 66 on December 1, was one of Spain’s most popular actresses during the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in many comedies.

“She committed suicide at her home,” a police spokesman told AFP without giving further details.

She won the best actress prize in 1994 at the Goya Awards, Spain’s top film honours, for her role in “Kika” as a young make-up artist who starts a relationship with the stepson of a philandering American writer.

Forque also appeared in Almodovar’s 1984 film “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”, his first movie to be released theatrically in the United States, and his 1986 “Matador”.

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, who appeared in “Matador” alongside her, expressed his condolences on Twitter.

“Goodbye Veronica Forque. I worked with her several years ago and I remember a sweet, spiritual woman and a very good work colleague,” he wrote shortly after news of her death broke.

The daughter of a director and a writer, Forque began her studies in psychology but ultimately switched to drama.

She worked with “some of the most important directors in Spanish cinema”, including Luis Garcia Berlanga and Antonio Mercero, in addition to Almodovar, according to the Spanish culture ministry’s website.

Forque also appeared in theatres and on television, most recently in the celebrity edition of the Spanish version of cooking competition “MasterChef Celebrity”.

• Europe