CHARO I'm a SURVIVOR

The iconic performer adjusts to life after her husband's death with strength and dignity

- Louise A. Barile, Fortune Benatar

Long before the world was inundated with one-named celebrities, there was Charo. A TV fixture throughout the 1960s and '70s, the Spainborn comedian, actress, and flamenco guitarist charmed audiences with her beauty, sparkle, and willingness to make fun of herself. "I said, 'OK, I have an accent, and it's never going to change,'" Charo, 71, tells Closer. "I'm going to have fun. Every time I open my mouth, it gets me in trouble, but I am turning my accent into a positive."

That moxie has taken Charo far- and not just in her professional life. In 2019, she unexpectedly lost her husband-manager, Kjell Rasten, to suicide. The couple had been married for over 40 years and have one adult son together. "It's unbelievable how overnight things can happen that can take you to the darkest place," Charo says. "But there is a way to survive. You have to be strong."

You've known difficult times before. Your family fled Spain during Francisco Franco's reign. What do you recall of that period?

I am nothing special. Every person has their own story. In the first few years of my life, we felt rich, but then overnight you don't know where your father is and you see your mother crying quietly when she thought we weren't watching. We were kicked out of the property that we owned for hundreds of years. I didn't see my father again until I was 18.

What was your father like?

My father was an advocate for freedom, education, and equality. Before he left Spain, he worked hard to make my sister and I understand that we needed an education. Education is priceless. He also made my sister and I swear we would never get involved with politics. If he had not, I would be a congresswoman today!

Really? Why?