Dolores Hart, the Nun Who Kissed Elvis

Hollywood is not far from God. Religious-themed movies have been plentiful since the creation of the film Mecca, and those dedicated to religious figures almost form a subgenre. In this category, we find milestones like 'The Song of Bernadette', which won four Oscars including one for its protagonist Jennifer Jones, 'The Nun's Story' featuring Audrey Hepburn in a habit, and 'Doubt', in which Meryl Streep became a Sister of Charity. Sometimes, it's not even fiction. Benedictine Dolores Hart is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because she was an actress before taking her vows.

This calling has an even more famous precedent. In 1947, Mexican actor José Mójica donned Franciscan habits, a decision to which composer Agustín Lara dedicated an emblematic song, 'Solamente una vez'. Sixteen years later, the performer followed the same path. She was not an aspirant, but a rising star. The agent of Dolores Hicks, her real name, was negotiating a contract that would have earned her a million dollars in 1963 when she decided to abruptly end her career.

Before becoming a beautiful young woman with a promising future, the future nun had been an unlucky girl who grew up in her hometown of Chicago. Her parents were 18 when she was born in 1938, apparently against her maternal grandmother's will. Marital disputes were frequent, and the girl got used to seeking refuge in the cinema where her grandfather worked as a projectionist.

The interest in reaching the big screen was not strange in this troubled household. Bert Hicks, her father, was an actor and moved to Los Angeles with the whole family. Knowing the ins and outs of the industry, the young woman also sought her place, attended castings, and in one of them, she acted opposite none other than Elvis Presley. The production was called 'Loving You' and she obtained a minor role, but it became the first step in a promising career. Later, she filmed 'King Creole' with the king of rock and roll as her partner.

The beginner Dolores seemed headed towards a canonical career. Youth-oriented films gave her credibility, especially 'It Takes Two to Love', dated 1960, a story of first loves in which the future nun played a student who referred to cuddling inside a car as the beginning of an interpersonal relationship. Interestingly, a year later, she took on the role of Clare of Assisi in a biography of Francis of Assisi directed by Michael Curtiz, and shortly thereafter, she played a dramatic role as a Jewish Auschwitz survivor in 'The Inspector'.

In reality, the actress, although of Catholic faith, did not seem particularly interested in sharing her time with a religious congregation when a friend suggested she enjoy several days of rest at the Regina Laudis Abbey in Connecticut. In any case, after nine months of performances on Broadway and facing commitments in film and television, she longed for some disconnection and accepted the suggestion. The experience was impactful and, as she herself later confessed, she returned to her profession with a sense of peace and inner renewal.

She returned to filming and even participated in an episode of the famous series 'The Virginian' playing a missionary. But there was no turning back. Her life had definitively changed. Actor Karl Malden, a close friend, explained that one day she knocked on the door carrying her best clothes and jewelry and offered them to his daughters. At that time, Hart was at the peak of her career, on the verge of definitive stardom and about to marry architect Don Robinson. In the documentary 'God is the Better Elvis', her fiancé describes the desolation he suffered following the revelation of her calling and the cancellation of the wedding. They remained in contact, and he, who stayed single, visited her every year until his death in 2011.

The actress became Mother Dolores in 1963 and served as abbess from 2001 to 2015. The call of the Lord did not completely withdraw her from the passion for acting and she promoted an annual outdoor theater initiative. In this endeavor, she was supported by Paul Newman and Patricia Neal. She also maintained her friendship with other colleagues like Stephen Boyd.

The world did not forget her. The story of her life in the abbey, an HBO production, received an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary Short category, and that occasion marked the brief return of the nun to the red carpet of the biggest film event in 2012. It was not her only activity away from the abbey. Six years earlier, she had given a talk at the Washington Congress about the need to research peripheral neuropathy, a neurological disease that she herself suffers from. Additionally, she has published her autobiography.

In the audiovisual, Mother Dolores appears as a person who listens both to the younger nuns and to those who come with problems to the monastery. She assures her purpose of providing hope to those who ask her for advice and recalls her first years in the Order, which were very tough, as the life of the novices involved silence, solitude, and a lot of work.

There are stories that seem like cinematic plots. In these times when renewed spirituality is discussed, where a movie like 'Sundays', which talks about vocation and closure, and the biopic 'Only Javier' describes the conversion of a bon vivant paddle tennis player into a sober seminarian, Mother Dolores Hart provides an extreme example of swapping 'glamour' for discipline and faith, a narrative worthy of brilliant screenwriters.