Fernanda Torres, at age 60, has been elected Personality of the Year in the Portuguese-speaking world by journalists from the Lusa agency. She won this title after a contest with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Judge Alexandre Morais, who is overseeing the case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The actress is currently filming “Os Corretores,” directed by Andrucha Waddington, closing a year that began with a Golden Globe Award—the first ever awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to a Brazilian actress—and an Oscar nomination.
All of this recognition came thanks to her role in the movie “Ainda Estou Aqui,” directed by Walter Salles. The film is inspired by the true story of activist and lawyer Eunice Paiva and her husband, politician Rubens Paiva, who was imprisoned, tortured, and killed during Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985).
The film is based on the memoir “Ainda Estou Aqui” by writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva, which details not only the repression and torture suffered by his father—whose body was never found—but also his mother’s resilience and endurance until the end of her life.
Although Fernanda Torres did not win the Oscar for Best Actress, “Ainda Estou Aqui” won the award for Best International Film, marking recognition for Brazilian cinema and culture, as stated by Walter Salles at the time.
Fernanda Torres’s performance drew more than five million viewers in Brazilian cinemas and earned her a Cultural Merit Order in May, awarded by President Lula da Silva.
Besides Fernanda Torres, both Walter Salles and Marcelo Rubens Paiva received Brazil’s highest public cultural honor.
Fernanda Torres, an actress and writer, was born in Rio de Janeiro on September 15, 1965, and grew up in the artistic environment as the daughter of actress Fernanda Montenegro and actor Fernando Torres.
She debuted in her teenage years almost simultaneously in theater, film, and television, becoming particularly popular in comedy, although her versatility in other genres is well acknowledged.
Fernanda Torres had previously worked with Walter Salles, notably on “Terra Estrangeira” (1995), shot in Portugal, a country where she owns a house and where she engaged in both film and theater. In 1988, at just over twenty, she appeared in the film “A Mulher do Próximo” by José Fonseca e Costa and in 2004 took the stage with the monologue “A Casa dos Budas Ditosos,” based on a work by João Ubaldo Ribeiro.
In 2013, Fernanda Torres made her literary debut with the novel “Fim,” followed by “Sete Anos: Crónicas” (2014) and “A Glória e Seu Cortejo de Horrores” (2017).
The actress gave an interview to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.
Notícias ao Minuto | 15:28 – 20/02/2025
