Fernanda Montenegro

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Fernanda Montenegro
ONM
Montenegro in 2015
Born
Arlette Pinheiro Esteves da Silva

(1929-10-16) 16 October 1929 (age 94)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
EducationPedro II School
Alma materBerlitz Corporation
OccupationActress
Years active1950–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1953; died 2008)​
ChildrenCláudio Torres
Fernanda Torres
WebsiteOfficial website

Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Torres

International Emmy in the category of Best Actress for her performance in Sweet Mother (2013).[8]

Among the various national and international awards she has received in a career spanning more than sixty years, she was awarded in 1999 her country's highest civilian honor, the

RecordTV, where she appeared in other productions as well.[13] She has done work in most of Brazil's main broadcasters, such as Band, TV Cultura, RecordTV e TV Globo (where she remains since 1981), in addition to the extinct TV Excelsior, TV Rio and TV Tupi.[14][15]

In 2013, she was voted the 15th most influential celebrity in Brazil by Forbes magazine.[16] During the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Fernanda read the poem "A Flor e a Náusea" by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, dubbed in English by Judi Dench.

On 4 November 2021 she was elected to occupy the Chair number 17 at the

Brazilian Academy of Letters, in succession to Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco.[17]

Early life

Fernanda Montenegro was born as Arlette Pinheiro Esteves da Silva, the daughter of Vitório Esteves da Silva, a mechanic of Portuguese origin, and Carmen Nieddu Pinheiro Esteves da Silva, a housewife, daughter of Italians from the island of Sardinia.[18][19]

Career

Stage and television career

Fernanda Montenegro, 1967. National Archives of Brazil.

In the late 1940s, Montenegro was adapting famous theatre plays to radio. She began her artistic life in the theatre with the play Alegres Canções nas Montanhas (Happy Songs on the Mountain) in 1950. Among her fellow actors was Fernando Torres, who would soon become her husband. She subsequently worked with other acclaimed actors like Sérgio Britto, Cacilda Becker, Nathalia Timberg, Cláudio Correa e Castro and Ítalo Rossi. In 1951 she became a TV pioneer in Brazil, working for

TV Tupi
 – the second TV station of South America. She appeared in several plays on TV between 1951 and 1970.

Moving to

A Muralha (1968), based on the novel by celebrated Brazilian author Dinah Silveira de Queiroz, and Sangue do Meu Sangue (1969), a memorable melodrama engraved in Brazilian pop culture, whose stellar cast featured not only Montenegro, but other theatre's stars like Sérgio Britto, Cláudio Correa e Castro, Francisco Cuoco, Nicette Bruno and Tônia Carrero
.

Throughout the 1970s Montenegro moved away from television, rather focusing on her theatre and film career. Still, a televised performance in Euripides’ classic play

São Paulo Association of Art Critics
.

The 1980s marked Montenegro's return to television in full force. She appeared in telenovelas such as

São Paulo Association of Art Critics
, for her work in Brilhante and Guerra dos Sexos.

The early 1990s proved once again to be a time of success in television for Montenegro, as she took on roles in two other smash hits, the popular primetime telenovelas

Érico Veríssimo
.

Fernanda Montenegro in the theater, 1970. National Archives of Brazil.

In 1997, Montenegro's string of critical and audience triumphs came to an abrupt halt as her portrayal of the lead role in the telenovela Zazá, a much anticipated return to comedy, couldn't live up to either reviewers' or the viewing public's expectations. After a series of changes in attempt to salvage it from absolute failure, still facing overall rejection, the show was cut short and quickly wrapped. Despite its being a considerable letdown, "Zazá" was soon eclipsed by the monumental success Montenegro's film career witnessed with the release of Central Station.

In spite of a successful minor appearance as

O Auto da Compadecida (1999), later re-cut into a theatrical film (internationally known as A Dog's Will), Montenegro's television career struggled in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2001, another attempt was made in telenovela comedy with As Filhas da Mãe, which covered the backstage of Brazilian Fashion Industry. Short of a celebrated scene, early on, which featured Montenegro's character winning an Oscar, the telenovela was, once more, a flop. Lackluster ratings and overall negative reviews led to its swift cancellation. Nevertheless, Montenegro still managed to be nominated as Best Actress in the Contigo Awards, which laureates excellence in Brazilian telenovelas.[20]

The following year, Montenegro shifted towards primetime drama, opting for a minor role in the first stage of the telenovela

TV Globo
, the broadcasting channel of Brazil's most powerful telecommunications conglomerate. Due to Montenegro's continued success in film, as well as her status as one of the most cherished artists and personalities in Brazil, these disappointments tended to be minimized, often regarded as minor blots in an extended résumé of significant successes.

Montenegro returned to television's good graces in a supporting role as the exploitive stepmother of the lead character in the ensemble piece mini-series

São Paulo Association of Art Critics Award.[21][22]

Fernanda Montenegro and Bibi Ferreira, 1972. National Archives of Brazil.

The following year, Montenegro returned to primetime drama, taking on the female lead role in

São Paulo Association of Art Critics.[23]

Following her streak of well-received roles, Montenegro returned to television in 2008, taking a supporting role, as Dona Iraci, in the critically and publicly acclaimed primetime mini-Series Queridos Amigos, based on the book "Aos Amigos", by Portuguese novelist Maria Adelaide Amaral, an ensemble piece that tells a fictional reconstitution of personal experiences of Amaral and a group of close friends, set during a moment of political turbulence in the Brazilian transition from a military dictatorship to a democratic regime.

In 2010, she starred in the

Passione, where she played Beth Gouveia.[24]

In 2012, Montenegro starred in the latest episode of the miniseries As Brasileiras as an actress without much talent named Mary Torres. Determined to make the success they have always dreamed, Mary ends vontando television to revive his career.[25]

In

Globo. She was again nominated for an Emmy in 2015, and the series was awarded Best Comedy at the 43rd International Emmy Awards
Gala.

In 2013, at age 85 years, Montenegro returns to television in the remake of Saramandaia.[28]

In the same year, Montenegro had participated in the cast of the telenovela

Babilônia, written by Gilberto Braga, in the role of Teresa, a homosexual lawyer who maintains a relationship with the character Nathalia Timberg
, Estela.

Film career

The actress Fernanda Montenegro is awarded with the medal Euvaldo Lodi, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI).

Montenegro's film career was launched in the mid-1960s. Her debut came in 1965, as Zulmira, in the movie A Falecida (internationally known as The Death and released in the U.S. as The Deceased). The film was a cinematic adaptation of the play, by the greatest of Brazilian dramatists,

Nélson Rodrigues
, and earned its female lead, amongst positive reviews, her first distinction as a film actress, as Montenegro won the Candango Trophy as Best Actress in the Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema.

Throughout the 1970s, Montenegro was featured in a series of other movies, but none seemed to match the degree of acclaim as her debut, until, in 1978, she starred as Elvira Barata, opposite Paulo Gracindo, in Arnaldo Jabor's Tudo Bem (internationally known as Everything's Alright). The movie earned positive reviews, eventually winning the top prize at the Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema, taking the Candango Trophy for Best Film. Although receiving considerable appraisal, Montenegro's performance missed any major awards.

As her next big screen role, in 1981, Montenegro starred as Romana in Eles Não Usam Black-Tie (internationally known as They Don't Wear Black Tie), based on a play by the late

São Paulo Association of Art Critics, and, most significantly, a movie of international notice, landing major awards in film festivals all around the world, including the Grand Coral First Prize in the Havana Film Festival, as well as the Grand Jury Special Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize in the Venice Film Festival
.

Focusing in television during the 1980s, Montenegro's film exposure was limited throughout the remaining of the decade, but she still participated in a minor role as Carlota, a religious practitioner of Umbanda (a syncretic belief system very popular in Brazil), in 1985's A Hora da Estrela (internationally known as Hour of the Star), a movie that was lauded by critics both domestically – snatching six Candango Trophies in the Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema, including Best Film, Director, Actor (José Dumont) and Actress (Marcélia Cartaxo) and, internationally, earning the Grand Coral First Prize in the Havana Film Festival, as well as three major awards in the Berlin Film Festival: the International Confederation of Art House Cinemas Award, the OCIC Award and the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress (awarded to fellow co-star Marcélia Cartaxo).

Montenegro's film career hiatus would only be broken in 1994, emerging in a segment titled "Samba do Grande Amor" of the film Veja Esta Canção (internationally known as Rio's Love Song), which garnered its director

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[29]

Central do Brasil

In 1998, Montenegro delivered the performance of a career, starring in Central do Brasil (internationally known as Central Station), as Dora. The movie fared well domestically, winning four awards by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics (including Best Film, Director and Actress in Film – Montenegro's first, after winning thrice for her television career), and achieved international acclaim unprecedented for any Brazilian film. Central Station debuted to undisputed praise in the Berlin Film Festival, eventually earning three of its major awards: The Golden Berlin Bear for Best Film, the Special Prize by the Ecumenical Jury and the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress for Montenegro.

Successively, many other honors were bestowed upon the film, as it won five awards at the

Best Film in a Foreign Language.[30][31]

Montenegro was honored on numerous occasions, earning additional Best Actress awards from the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, the

Golden Globe and for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a feat which gave Montenegro the distinction of being the first (Brazilian and) Latin American actress to be bestowed with such an honor by the Academy. She is also the only person nominated so far for a performance in the Portuguese language.[32][33]

21st century

Montenegro in 2003

Montenegro's follow-up to Central Station marked her return to the work of Nélson Rodrigues, as she took on a supporting role in 1999's "Gêmeas", directed by her own son-in-law, Andrucha Waddington, and starred by her own daughter, Fernanda Torres. The film fared relatively well domestically, earning Torres a Candango Trophy for Best Actress in the Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema and a nomination for Best Actress in the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, but failed to gain any substantial recognition internationally. In 2000, the celebrated television mini-series "O Auto da Compadecida", in which Montenegro appeared as the Holy Mary, was re-cut into a film of same title (internationally known as A Dog's Will) and released to movie theaters to significantly appreciative domestic appraisal. It eventually won four awards at the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, including Best Director, Best Actor (Matheus Nachtergaele) and Best Screenplay (surprisingly, it lost the Best Picture award), but also failed to launch a noteworthy international career.

In 2004, Montenegro's film career was once again in full force. She returned to the Berlin Film Festival with O Outro Lado da Rua (internationally known as

Tribeca Film Festival. Domestically, the film also fared well, landing six nominations to the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, with Montenegro winning the Best Actress award.[34][35]

The same year, she also took a supporting role in Redentor (internationally known as Redeemer), directed by her son, Cláudio Torres, and co-starred by her husband

Olga Benário in the biopic Olga
, based on the book by Brazilian biographer Fernando Morais. The movie was received with mixed reviews by critics, often praised for its technical merits (mainly its cinematography, make-up art, costume design and art direction) and panned for its narrative and directing choices. It still fared strongly in the box-office, though, and scored nine nominations in the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, earning three technical awards (Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up). "Olga" was also chosen, eventually, as the film to represent Brazil in the Oscar race in pursuit of a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not make it to the final five nominees.

Fernanda Montenegro during presentation of the play Viver sem tempos mortos in 2012.

2005 saw Montenegro's return to lead, as she took on three different roles in the feminist epic saga Casa de Areia (internationally known as The House of Sand), opposite her own daughter, Fernanda Torres, with whom she alternated the same roles.[37] The movie had a strong display domestically, earning rave reviews and special distinction to Montenegro's performance. It garnered 12 nominations to the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize (including Best Actress for Montenegro), earning three technical awards (the same as "Olga").[38] The movie displayed the potential to develop an international career, as it earned two nominations to the Satellite Awards and earned an Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize in the Sundance Film Festival, but its campaign was crippled when Brazilian critics turned their support to Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus (internationally known as Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures), choosing it to represent Brazil in the Oscar race.

In late 2006, Montenegro garnered attention for leading a movement of film artists and investors who firmly opposed a Congressional Bill that reduced federal incentives in cultural programmes, reallocating such funds to public investments in the fields of sports and leisure. On December 14, 2006, Montenegro directly addressed the

Gabriel García Marquez. Albeit a minor role, it marked Montenegro's first performance in an English language spoken feature. The movie debuted to mainly poor reviews, but none focused on Montenegro's acting.[citation needed
]

In 2012, Montenegro starred in the short film A Dama do Estácio directed by Edward Ades[39] and in 2013 participated in the film cast Time and the Wind an adaptation of the novel by Erico Verissimo with Thiago Lacerda, Marjorie Estiano and Cléo Pires.[40]

Personal life

Montenegro was married to Fernando Torres from 1954 until his death in 2008. They had two children: Fernanda Torres (b. 1965), who won the Best Actress prize at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, and film director Cláudio Torres (b. 1962).

Regarding the adoption of a stage name, the actress has stated that she chose "Fernanda" simply because of its sonority, whilst "Montenegro" was the surname of her family's doctor.[citation needed]

Filmography

Main article: Fernanda Montenegro filmography

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Fernanda Montenegro

Honours

 – Grã-Cruz da Ordem Nacional do Mérito: Awarded by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on April 12, 1999.[41]

Quotes

  • "My English is not good. My soul is better".
  • "I'm the Old Lady from Ipanema".
  • "In Brazil, I have a career. In America, I have an accent."
  • "Culture is, above all, a social need. It is not a frivolity."
  • "I vote Lula in the hopes of a Brazil with education, with health, in the defense of nature. I vote Lula in the hopes of a real care for science, for culture, for the culture of the arts. In the name of democracy, for president, Lula." (10/07/2022)[42]

References

  1. ^ "Dama do teatro, Fernanda Montenegro comemora 80 anos". noticias.terra.com.br. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  2. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro, a dama do teatro brasileiro comemora 80 anos". canalteatro.com.br. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  3. ^ "Latinos In The Oscars: Almost 60 Winners And Nominees Along The History Of The Academy Awards! [PHOTOS]". Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  4. ^ "History of Latino Academy Award Nominees & Winners". Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  5. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro: uma diva entre estrelas". Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  6. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro no Espelho". G1. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro e Walter Salles desfrutam a felicidade, depois de Central do Brasil ser indicado aos Oscar de melhor atriz e melhor filme em língua estrangeira". ISTOÉ. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  8. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro leva Emmy e agradece diretores de 'Doce de mãe'". November 26, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Atriz Fernanda recebe maior comenda da República". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Fernanda Montenegro". Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  11. ^ "Central do Brasil". Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  12. ^ "A vida é bela". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  13. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro participa novamente de 'Mister Brau' e personagem tenta casar o filho". Gshow.com. June 13, 2017.
  14. ^ Gabriel Menezes. "Fernanda Montenegro não teme rejeição com personagem gay em 'Babilônia'". O Globo. Revista da TV. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  15. ^ "Taís Araújo fica nervosa ao atuar com Fernanda Montenegro em 'Mr Brau'".
  16. ^ Forbes. "Forbes apresenta as celebridades mais influentes do Brasil". Exame. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  17. ^ Salles, Stéfano (November 4, 2021). "Fernanda Montenegro é eleita para a Academia Brasileira de Letras". CNN Brazil (in Portuguese). Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  18. ^ "IstoÉ Gente: Fernanda Montenegro". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  19. ^ Fernanda Montenegro – Site Oficial – Universo Online
  20. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro e Diogo Vilela comentam 'O Auto da Compadecida'". December 6, 2012. p. Viva. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  21. Terra
     (in Portuguese). November 22, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  22. Terra
     (in Portuguese). December 13, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  23. ^ "APCA elege os melhores do ano". December 11, 2001. p. O Estado de S. Paulo. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  24. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro sobre "Passione": "fiquei sem ar de tão lindo que está"". April 27, 2010. p. Contigo!.[permanent dead link]
  25. ^ "Em "As Brasileiras", Fernanda Montenegro interpreta uma atriz com pouco talento". June 25, 2012. p. Uol.
  26. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro and 'Side by Side' win the 41st International Emmy Awards". p. globotvinternational.com/. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013.
  27. ^ "Sean Bean, Fernanda Montenegro win acting awards at International Emmys". November 26, 2013. p. CTV News.
  28. ^ "Saramandaia: Fernanda Montenegro volta às novelas três anos depois de Passione". p. mdemulher.abril.com.br/blogs/. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013.
  29. ^ Okky de Souza (February 18, 1998). "A estrela sobe". Veja (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  30. ^ Vivian Whiteman (January 25, 1999). "Central do Brasil vence o Globo de Ouro". dgabc.com.br/ (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  31. ^ Amelia Gentleman (April 12, 1999). "Bafta falls in love with the Elizabethans". The Guardian. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  32. ^ Souza, Okky de (January 27, 1999). "A atriz sem inimigos". Veja (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  33. ^ BERNARD WEINRAUB (December 14, 1998). "Los Angeles Critics Honor 'Pvt. Ryan'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  34. ^ EFE (May 10, 2004). "Fernanda Montenegro recebe o prêmio de melhor atriz no Festival de Tribeca; Sacramento também é premiado". Uol (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  35. ^ "Simplesmente uma diva". Mariane Morisawa. May 17, 2004. p. ISTOÉ Gente.
  36. ^ "Lula assiste ao filme Redentor com artistas e ministros no Alvorada". Nelson Motta. September 9, 2009. p. Agência Brasil. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  37. ^ ""Casa de Areia" reúne mãe e filha na tela". May 13, 2005. p. Estadão. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013.
  38. ^ "Camila Morgado e Fernanda Montenegro ainda colhem prêmios por Olga". Carlos Ramos. p. Ofuxico.
  39. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro vive prostituta em 'A dama do Estácio'". MICHELE MIRANDA. p. O Globo. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  40. ^ "Fernanda Montenegro e Marjorie Estiano começam a filmar "O Tempo e o Vento"". p. UOL. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  41. ^ Fernanda Montenegro recebe a Ordem Nacional do Mérito
  42. ^ Renata Souza (October 10, 2022). "Fernanda Montenegro declara voto em Lula". CNN Brazil (in Portuguese). Retrieved October 18, 2022.

External links

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Academic offices
Preceded by 7th Academic of the 17th chair of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters
2022–present 		Incumbent