The Spanish film industry has suffered a great loss. Renowned actress Verónica Echegui has died at the age of 42. Her passing came as a complete shock to the public and her colleagues, as she kept her struggle with a serious illness strictly private and never made it public until the very end.
Echegui always fiercely protected her private life from public view. According to her close friend, director Daniel Guzmán, the actress personally asked that her health issues not be disclosed. Even her last hospitalization in July of last year went unnoticed by the press. Verónica Echegui passed away quietly and without publicity, in keeping with her reserved character.
The actress’s modesty also extended to her family. It is known only that her father was a lawyer and her mother a civil servant. She tried to spend most of her free time with her loved ones. Her brother Luis works as a ski instructor in Panticosa (Aragón), and Verónica was often seen in this picturesque mountain village. The region was also significant for her career: in 2013, she filmed here for the movie “Kamikaze.”
Colleagues and journalists who worked with Etxeghi remember her as a sincere, simple, and natural person. In her final interviews, she said she was not afraid of death but of pain and illness—a statement that carries special significance now. Interestingly, her stage name, Etxeghi, is a shortened form of her full name, Fernández de Echegaray. The actress was related to Spain’s first Nobel laureate in literature, José Echegaray, who received the award in 1904.
The great love of Verónica Echegui’s life was the actor Álex García. They met while filming ‘Seis puntos sobre Emma’ in 2011 and had been inseparable ever since. Echegui’s talent earned recognition not only in Spain but also abroad. She appeared in the British series ‘Fortitude’ alongside international stars such as Dennis Quaid and Stanley Tucci, as well as in the comedy ‘Book of Love’ and the film ‘Bunny and the Bull.’ News of her passing triggered a strong response in the international press and among colleagues worldwide.
