---
name: "Wilhelmenia Fernandez"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/wilhelmenia-fernandez"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "5 January 1949"
died: "2 February 2024"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T13:45:36.107787+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Wilhelmenia Fernandez

Actor. Born 5 January 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 2 February 2024.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 5 January 1949, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Died:** 2 February 2024
- **Also known as:** Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez

## Biography

Wilhelmenia Fernandez, also credited as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, was an American soprano and actress. She played the title role of Cynthia Hawkins in Jean-Jacques Beineix’s 1981 film *Diva*, performing the aria “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana” from *La Wally*. It was her only film appearance.

Born in Philadelphia in 1949, she trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School. She made her operatic debut as Bess in *Porgy and Bess* for Houston Grand Opera and her Paris debut in 1979 as Musetta in *La bohème* alongside Plácido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa. Beineix cast her in *Diva* after seeing that performance.

Fernandez later appeared with New York City Opera and performed roles including Aida. In 1992 she received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in *Carmen Jones*. She died in 2024.

*Sources: nytimes.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Diva* (1981), Fi1m 80, as Cynthia Hawkins — [page](https://film.one/film/diva.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/wilhelmenia-fernandez