Montiel was born Maria Antonia Abad in Campo de Criptana, La Mancha, Spain on 10 March 1928. At age 16 she began acting and appeared in a number of movies. In 1950 Montiel moved to Mexico where she acted and sang in several films. In 1954 she co-starred in the movie Vera Cruz with Gregory Peck and Bert Lancaster. In 1956 she appeared in Serenade with Mario Lanza and Joan Fontaine. Montiel returned to Spain to star in a number of films. She became Spain's most popular star for the next decade. She retired from movies in the early 1970s but still appeared on television and the Stage. In 2011 she returned to appear in the comedy movie "Abrazame". She died on 8 April 2013 in Madrid at age eighty-five.