Fernando Díaz de Mendoza y Aguado

Fernando Díaz de Mendoza
Fernando Díaz de Mendoza as a young man
Born	(1862-06-07)7 June 1862 Jumilla, Spain
Died	20 October 1930(1930-10-20) (aged 68) Vigo, Spain
Spouse(s)	1. Ventura Serrano Domínguez (1866 - 1890) 2. María Guerrero Torija (1867 - 1928)
Children	Fernando Díaz de Mendoza Serrano (1889 - 1937) Fernando Díaz de Mendoza y Guerrero (1897 - 1942) Carlos Díaz de Mendoza () (1898 - 1960)

Fernando Díaz de Mendoza y Aguado (7 June 1862 – 20 October 1930) was a Spanish actor,impresario and theatre director. According to some critics he was one of the twentieth century's best actors.

Fernando Díaz de Mendoza y Aguado was born in Jumilla, not far from Murcia in the southeast of Spain. He was of aristocratic provenance. He had as titles 7th Marquis de San Mamés, 6th Marquis de Fontanar, Count of Balazote, Count of Lalaing and was a Grandee of Spain. His father was Mariano Díaz de Mendoza y Uribe, 5th Marquis de Fontanar, Grande de España and his mother Concepción Aguado y Flores. Little is known of his early years: during his adolescence he was a member of the society set in Murcia, known to friends as Fernando Fontanar, a reference to one of the several aristocratic titles he would later inherit from his father. As a young man he engaged in the pursuits appropriate to his wealth and status, involving hunting, partying and gambling.

In 1880 he relocated to Madrid where he was able to network with other members of Spain's aristocrat elite. Events took an unexpected turn after 1885 when Antonia Domínguez y Borrell, the newly widowed Duchess of La Torre, decided to build a theatre to provide a creative distraction for the aristocratic set. The theatre would be named after her daughter, Ventura. It was constructed in a palatial property that the duchess owned in Madrid's Calle Villanueva (street). The theatre opened on 30 January 1887 and quickly became a social, cultural and political focus for Madrid society. The play presented was "El loco de la Guardilla" by Narciso Serra (), with music by Manuel Fernández Caballero. The lead role of Cervantes was taken by a young actor called Fernando Diaz de Mendoza, who received for his performance the first of many standing ovations.

During the 1887 season Diaz de Mendoza achieved popular stardom and enthusiastic plaudits from influential critics such as the writer Emilia Pardo Bazán and the politician Emilio Castelar. At the end of that remarkable season the Ventura Theatre's remarkable first season the star actor and the young widow who owned the theatre announced their marriage. His wife was the widow or daughter of the recently deceased Duke of Torre and the couple were unusually rich.