Fernanda Montenegro

Fernanda Montenegro is a Brazilian actress who came to performing through radio, translating and adapting theater plays in the late 1940s before making her stage debut in Alegres Canções nas Montanhas in 1950. She moved to São Paulo in the early 1960s, where she combined stage work with television, including the soap opera Pouco Amor Não é Amor, and turned to film in 1964 with A Falecida. Her performance in Eles Não Usam Black-Tie (1981) drew strong reviews, and O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (1997) returned her to prominence on screen. Central Station (1998) brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a prize at Berlin. She has also worked in television, notably in O Auto da Compadecida, and has been called the First Lady of Brazilian Theater.