Before the stage, television, and movie cameras, the greatest star of Brazilian drama, actress Fernanda Montenegro, was known only for her voice. She was the announcer and radio actress Arlete Pinheiro from Rádio MEC. Fernanda, who began her career at this station at the age of 15, recognized that it was in a studio without cameras that the actress who would make an entire country proud was born. In October, this carioca, who created her own stage name and would take Brazilian sensitivity to the world, turned 95 years old.
“I was the announcer Arlete Pinheiro and the radio actress Arlete Pinheiro. When I went to write, I thought it was too ‘Arlete Pinheiro’. So I invented this name (Fernanda Montenegro) just to write,” the actress said in an interview with Rádio MEC three decades ago.
The actress left radio theater for the stage and then straight to television. Since then, her resume includes at least 65 shows, 18 films, 14 soap operas, and dozens of awards as best actress. Her theater debut was in 1950, in the play “Alegres Canções nas Montanhas”, alongside Fernando Torres, her husband, who passed away in 2008.
Fernanda Montenegro has been an immortal member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) since 2022 and occupies chair 17.
In cinema, among many awards, she has a Silver Bear in Berlin for her performance as Dora in Central do Brasil (1998), directed by Walter Salles. This work earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress. The recognition did not come, but the U.S. Critics Association awarded her the actress of the year award, among other trophies. In 2013, she won the International Emmy for best actress for her role as Dona Picucha in the special “Doce de Mãe”. The actress also made a special appearance in the film “Ainda Estou Aqui”, by Walter Salles. The film represents Brazil in the race for a nomination for best international film at this year’s Oscars.
Guinness Awards Fernanda for Audience Record in Philosophical Reading
Fernanda was recently honored with recognition from the Guinness Book for the world record of audience in a philosophical reading during the presentation of Simone de Beauvoir at Parque Ibirapuera in São Paulo on August 18, 2024, where she gathered an audience of 15,000 people.
At the ceremony where she received the award, Fernanda expressed her gratitude for the achievement recognized worldwide by the publication. “Miracles happen. Our culture is our country. The theatrical culture is man throughout the millennia. Anywhere in the world, there is always the presence of someone speaking to someone, the vision of an experience that brings a text, a contrast, a variation of the moment one lives, a transcendence of the moment one lives, even the good humor of the moment one lives. This is from the stage. So, I thank Simone de Beauvoir for the 15,000 inside Ibirapuera,” said the actress.
Fernanda praised the harmonious environment of the audience that remained at the location throughout the presentation where she was seated at a table reciting texts by Simone de Beauvoir.
“Does this happen somewhere in the world? Just talking to 15,000 people, just talking, just bringing ideas that are not easy to absorb, and no one leaves. Everyone accepts every word that is said and ends up applauding and hugging in a space with 15,000 people. No matter how much we thank God and the gods, it is not enough,” said the actress in the video posted on her Instagram profile.
Source: Agência Brasil