Before the stage, the TV set, the movie cameras, the biggest star of Brazilian dramatic art, actress Fernanda Montenegro, was known only for her voice. She was the announcer and radio actress Arlete Pinheiro, from Rádio MEC. Fernanda, who started at the network at the age of 15, recognized that it was in a studio without cameras that the actress was born who would make an entire country revere, be proud and moved.
This Wednesday (16), this Rio native, who created her own artistic name and would take Brazilian sensitivity to the world, turns 95 years old.
“I was the announcer Arlete Pinheiro and the radio actress Arlete Pinheiro. When I went to write it, I thought it was very ‘Arlete Pinheiro’. Then I invented this name (Fernanda Montenegro) to write it”, said the actress, in an interview with Rádio MEC three decades ago. “The first thing I did at the theater was at the invitation of a colleague who was part of the radio theater. [da Rádio MEC]”.
Fernanda was recommended to the playwright Adacto Filho, who was the director, and, for her, an “old-fashioned rehearser”. “It was during this test that I stepped onto the stage more consciously for Rádio Ministério”, he recalled, in an interview with the Society of Friends Listeners to Rádio MEC.
“I started my life”
The actress left the radio theater, went to the stage and then straight to television — also in an interview, in an episode of the Kinoscope program, on Rádio MEC, presented by producer Fabiano Canosa, She celebrated her return to the special place. “I’m here in the Rádio MEC studio, where I started my life”.
Not just hers. Fernanda also remembered her husband and co-worker Fernando Torres (1927–2008). The couple formed a pair of announcers who addressed the public as “dear listeners”. “This program ‘Falando de Cinema’ was Fernando’s idea. There were scenes and behind-the-scenes.”
Also in a historic interview with Rádio MEC, the actress recalled that the radio team had an acting teacher called Esther Leão. “I remember that the first program was an adaptation of the play “Sinhá Moça Chorou”, by Ernani Fornari. And then I started working in radio and theater. These classes were given, some at the broadcaster itself and others at the Ministry of Education.”
Feeling and technique
She cited acting classes in her training. “As for a feeling in a work proposal in the environment of an artistic medium. In that first job, we were very happy. And we started doing one radio theater a week”, he said in an interview at the end of the 1990s.
Since then, her CV has included at least 65 shows, 18 films, 14 soap operas and dozens of awards for best actress. His theater debut took place in 1950, in the play “Alegres Canções nas Montanhas”, alongside Fernando Torres.
“Exponential figure”
Fernanda Montenegro has been immortal at the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) since 2022 and occupies chair 17. Also immortal, writer Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira, considers Fernanda the greatest Brazilian actress of all time.
“Fernanda is an exponential female figure in Brazilian culture. I have the most absolute reverence for her. Strong friendship and it was really a great pride when, 15 years ago, we staged ‘Living without dead times’ for the first time, directed by Filipe Dias”, stated the writer.
In cinema, among so many awards, the Silver Bear, in Berlin, for her performance in the role of Dora, in Central do Brasil (1998), by Walter Salles, remains in the recent memory of Brazilians. The work earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress.
This recognition did not come, but the North American Association of Film Critics gave her the award for actress of the year, among other trophies. In 2013, she won the International Emmy as best actress for the role of Dona Picucha in the special “Doce de Mãe”. The actress also makes a special appearance in the film “I’m Still Here”, by Walter Salles. The film represents Brazil trying to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
See also: Fernanda Montenegro takes 15 thousand people to Ibirapuera Park, in SP
At 94 years old, Fernanda Montenegro talks about the death of friends: “Every time”
This content was originally published in 95 years of Fernanda Montenegro: find out how the actress began her career on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
