Irma Serrano

Biography

Irma Consuelo Cielo Serrano Castro (9 December 1933 – 1 March 2023), better known simply as Irma Serrano, was a Mexican singer, actress, and politician, widely known by the nickname “La Tigresa.” Born in Comitán de Domínguez in Chiapas, she rose to prominence in the 1960s as a performer of ranchera and corrido music and developed a parallel screen career spanning Mexican cinema from the early 1960s onward. In music, Serrano recorded and performed extensively in traditional Mexican popular styles; sources note a professional takeoff in the early 1960s, including work associated with Columbia Records. As an actress, she became closely identified with bold, sensational genre filmmaking and star vehicles built around her “La Tigresa” persona, while also appearing in mainstream productions alongside major figures such as Cantinflas and El Santo. Beyond film, she played a notable role in Mexico City theater as the owner and producer of Teatro Fru Fru (a venue she acquired and restored), staging adult-oriented and controversial productions, including an adaptation of Émile Zola’s Nana. In politics, Serrano was elected in 1994 to the Senate of the Republic (Mexico), associated with the Party of the Democratic Revolution. She died on 1 March 2023, reportedly of a heart attack, at age 89.