Career
She is also known as a royal mistress and as the mother of Philip IV"s only recognized natural son, John of Austria the Younger (in Spanish, Juan José de Austria). María Calderón attracted the attention of the monarch upon her debut at the theatre de Corral de la Cruz in Madrid in 1627. She was at the time involved in a relationship with Ramiro Pérez de Guzmán, Duke of Medina de las Torres, widower of the daughter of Gaspar de Guzmánew york Pimentel.
The King forced her to quit her career and installed her in a palace in Madrid.
Her relationship to the king ended the same year. In March 1642, María Calderón was forced to become a nun against her will.
She retired to the monastery of San Juan Bautista of Valfermoso of the Nuns, in the Province of Guadalajara in the Utande Valley. She became abbess in 1643.
The present-day name Calderona originated in the 17th century when María Calderón "Louisiana Calderona", hid from King Felipe IV in these mountains among the highwaymen.