Fernanda Montenegro: “This Isn’t for You”
Despite family disapproval, the actress established herself as an icon of TV, cinema, and theater, becoming the first to be nominated for an Oscar and elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters
Fernanda Montenegro by Darcy CardosoFolha de S.Paulo
Time was generous to Fernanda Montenegro – thankfully she paid no heed to her family, who did not want her on the stage. Time allowed the actress to garner recognition, admiration, and a reputation from both audiences and critics, earning accolades, biographies, commendations, awards, and exposure over eight decades.
Fernanda Montenegro (2022-03-25) by Claudia MartiniFolha de S.Paulo
Her consistency, ethics, and talent placed her on a kind of altar of Brazilian cultural heritage. The Brazilian Academy of Letters granted her immortality. But she was already saintly.
She played the Virgin Mary in the screen adaptation of the play ‘O Auto da Compadecida.’ “Fernanda’s face will now join, in my memory, that of Socorro Raposo, the first actress to play the role, in Recife,” said the playwright Ariano Suassuna.
Under the inspired direction of Guel Arraes, the 1999 TV movie became an award-winning drama about the misadventures of the country rascals Chicó (Selton Mello) and João Grilo (Matheus Nachtergaele).
A resounding success, it drew 2.1 million moviegoers in 2000 and had the highest box office gross that year. It was close to the saints, at the age of eight and specifically in a church, that Fernanda – born Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Silva – discovered theater.
Besides Suassuna, Fernanda attracted the admiration of another revered figure, the playwright Nelson Rodrigues, with whom she had a deep friendship. It was for her that Rodrigues, the “Pornographic Angel”, wrote the plays ‘Beijo no asfalto’ (1960), ‘Toda nudez será castigada’ (1965), and ‘A serpente’ (1978).
Fernanda Montenegro (1980-10-17) by Plinio SantosFolha de S.Paulo
However, the actress only took part in the staging of ‘Beijo no Asfalto.’ In this play, the character Selminha was the wife of Arandir, who kissed a stranger on the brink of death after being hit by a streetcar. A devoted wife, she rejected the idea that her husband was homosexual.
Controversial, like almost all the journalist’s writings, the play challenges middle-class morals in the turbulent 1960s. “I only felt the same intense grief upon a death when Carlos Drummond de Andrade died. They were the references that touched me the deepest,” the actress said of Nelson’s death in 1980.
Fernanda Montenegro (1992-01-07) by César ItiberêFolha de S.Paulo
Fernanda’s career was always pioneering, a superlative approach that marked not only the difference between her and her daughter, the actress Fernanda Torres, but the technical and poetic refinement that permeated her journey.
Of Italian-Portuguese descent, she was born on October 16, 1929, in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of Campinho and became the first actress to join the Brazilian Academy of Letters, in 2022. And the first woman to occupy Chair 17, which had been held by Sílvio Romero (founder of ABL), Osório Duque-Estrada, Roquette-Pinto, Álvaro Lins, and Antonio Houaiss. “I am the first female representative of the Brazilian stage to be received in this institution,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Fernanda Montenegro (1999-03-21) by Rogério AlbuquerqueFolha de S.Paulo
She was the first Brazilian nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress for her captivating performance as Dora in the drama ‘Central Station’ (1998) by Walter Salles, which had already won her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 48th Berlin Film Festival.
“One day, Walter Salles called me: ‘Fernanda, I’d like you to read a script.’ I read it and thought it was beautiful, simple. A small team. We started. We didn’t expect all this. We made the movie almost in secret. We began to win awards wherever we went, and we reached the Oscars.” When interviewed by David Letterman on his talk show in the US, the actress entered the stage to the sound of ‘Quizás, quizás, quizás.’
Fernanda Montenegro (1996-11-09) by Rosane MarinhoFolha de S.Paulo
And she elicited laughs by introducing herself as “an old girl from Ipanema” (an allusion to Tom Jobim’s classic ‘The Girl from Ipanema’) and assessing her slim chances of winning the statuette: “I’m the underdog.”
Fernanda Montenegro (2002-11-27) by Sérgio LimaFolha de S.Paulo
Indeed, she didn’t win, but that matters little to someone who has already gained over 90 awards, 119 nominations, and 11 national and international honors and commendations, like the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit.
The commendation was a recognition of her “outstanding work in Brazilian performing arts.” Nothing could be more fitting for someone who literally devoted her life to the dramatic arts in cinema, theater, TV, and radio.
Fernanda Montenegro (1997-04-28) by Alexandre CampbellFolha de S.Paulo
Her husband Fernando Torres passed away from lung cancer in 2008.
'The best', 'the first', 'the pioneer', 'the trailblazer' are epithets that have accompanied her since her radio days. In 1951, she was the first of the cast of actors hired for the newly launched TV Tupi in Rio de Janeiro.
She was the first Brazilian to receive the award for Best Actress on International TV, at the 41st edition of the International Emmys, for her portrayal of Dona Picucha, an octogenarian who struggles to live alone in the TV special ‘Sweet Mother’ (2013).
Fernanda Montenegro (2013-05-14) by Daniel MarencoFolha de S.Paulo
Although the theater was her home, it was on TV and in movies, which she entered later in life, that Fernanda’s face gained recognition both domestically and internationally. She joined the Cinema Novo movement with ‘A Falecida’ (1964) by Leon Hirszman, based once again on a work by Nelson Rodrigues.
Her tormented character Zulmira, a lower middle-class housewife whose greatest ambition was to have a luxurious funeral, was a milestone. Fernanda was directed again by Hirszman in the classic "They Don’t Wear Black Tie" (1981), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Fernanda Montenegro (2019-10-18) by Matilde MissioneiroFolha de S.Paulo
The character of Romana, a woman of the people married to a union leader (played by Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, who also wrote the play of the same name), was one of her cinematic high points. “With Guarnieri, there was rapport in the scene; we formed a very beautiful, human connection,” she reflected.
Fernanda Montenegro (1979)Folha de S.Paulo
The scene in which Romana, with her head down, silently gathers beans at the kitchen table, is one of the most poignant in Brazilian cinema. She also portrayed Eurídice Gusmão in the movie ‘Invisible Life’ (2019) by Karim Aïnouz, screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Perhaps the only time her reign was challenged was when she was titled Queen of the Carnival Actresses in 1960. The Jornal do Brasil reported that the actress “came up against indifference from carnival artists, who paid no heed to her reign.”
She attended the award ceremony in a “sober ball gown” and not in “the scanty costume of her predecessors.” The reason: Fernanda was a “prima donna, not a showgirl,” without the “frivolities of revue theater stars,” reported the Rio newspaper. After succeeding in a contest to become a broadcaster at Rádio MEC (Ministry of Education and Culture) at the age of 15, the shy teenager Arlette chose the stage name Fernanda Montenegro. At MEC, where she worked for ten years, she even had a program called ‘Passeio Literário’ in which she adapted classics of literature.
Fernanda Montenegro (1999-03) by Ana Carolina FernandesFolha de S.Paulo
“It was the university education I never formally had.” During this time, she began attending an amateur theater group. Her family protested: “This isn’t for you, this isn’t for us. What kind of world is this?” is how she recalls their reaction.
A Fluminense fan and self-taught actress belonged to a generation of great actors, sharing scenes with the likes of Bibi Ferreira, Paulo Autran, Ítalo Rossi, Sérgio Britto, Leonardo Villar, Beatriz Segall, Glauce Rocha, Nathália Timberg, and working with directors like Gianni Ratto, Augusto Boal, Celso Nunes, Adolfo Celi, Amir Haddad, and Antunes Filho.
Her professional theater debut was in 1950, alongside her then-boyfriend Fernando Torres – whom she would marry in 1953 – in the play ‘3200 Metros de Altitude’ by Julian Luchaire.
Fernanda Montenegro (1958-04-12)Folha de S.Paulo
She won the Best New Actress award from the Brazilian Association of Theater Critics in 1952 for ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B. Priestley and ‘Loucuras do Imperador’ by Paulo Magalhães.
In 1959, the couple and other colleagues founded the Teatro dos Sete in Rio de Janeiro. The company’s debut play was the award-winning ‘O Mambembe’ by Artur Azevedo.
“I think those were times of farewell to a certain Brazil, the Brazil of hope", she stated. "The 1960s brought with them a change of capital, style of government, resignation, the military, the coup, political persecution, and censorship.They were 20 years of horror".
Fernanda Montenegro (1978-02)Folha de S.Paulo
She always stood with artists and creators who broke with tradition and conservatism, even though in her private life she married her stage colleague Fernando Torres as a virgin, wearing a wedding dress borrowed from her friend Eva Todor, in 1953.
Fernanda Montenegro (1987-12-28) by Marcos VinicioFolha de S.Paulo
Although she never politically aligned with any party, she was invited to be the Minister of Culture by presidents José Sarney and Itamar Franco. She declined both invitations. Her place was on the stage, she explained.
But the military regime never appreciated art, and by extension never approved of the democratic and libertarian stance of the couple Fernanda Montenegro and Fernando Torres. During the run of "É..." by Millôr Fernandes at the Teatro Maria Della Costa in São Paulo in 1970, the two were the targets of a shooting at the director Celso Nunes’ home, where they were staying.
“We had just returned from the theater and were sitting on the bed, turning off the light, when the bullet came through the window and embedded in the ceiling.”
Fernanda Montenegro (1979)Folha de S.Paulo
They went to the police station with the bullet in hand. “The police didn’t even take any notice.” Censorship was the biggest enemy, cutting parts of plays and prohibiting others from being staged.
“There were bomb threats, people invading theaters and beating people up, protests, upheaval. With the AI-5, the horror of censorship, political persecution, and disrespect for citizenship. Those who went through that process suffer from the memories to this day,” she said.
Fernanda Montenegro (2012-05-08) by Sergio CarvalhoFolha de S.Paulo
At her first TV job on Tupi, from 1963 to 1965, she participated in about 80 plays and programs, including the soap operas "Amor Não é Amor" and "A Morta sem Espelho," both by Nelson Rodrigues.
She took part in hundreds of theatrical productions, soap operas, mini-series, and movies, many alongside her husband at the Companhia Maria Della Costa and the Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia (TBC).
Fernanda Montenegro (1958)Folha de S.Paulo
She acted with her daughter Fernanda and was also directed by her husband, her son, and sons-in-law Gerald Thomas and Andrucha Waddington in works such as "A Mulher de Todos Nós", "As Lágrimas Amargas de Petra von Kant", "Dona Doida, Um Interlúdio", "The Flash and Crash Days", and "Redentor".
Fernanda Montenegro (2004-11-16) by André DurãoFolha de S.Paulo
She also worked with the Excelsior, TV Rio, Bandeirantes, Tupi-SP, and Globo networks.
Fernanda Montenegro (1983-11-10) by Paulo BrandãoFolha de S.Paulo
With the latter, owned by the Marinho family, she had a long collaboration involving soap operas, miniseries, and specials. She appeared soap operas such as "Baila Comigo" by Manoel Carlos and "Brilhante" by Gilberto Braga. She starred in "Guerra dos Sexos" by Silvio de Abreu, alongside her friend Paulo Autran.
Fernanda Montenegro (2017-08-09) by Daryan DornellesFolha de S.Paulo
In ‘Babilônia’ (2015) by Gilberto Braga, Ricardo Linhares, and João Ximenes Braga, her character Teresa, an elderly lesbian, caused controversy when she kissed Estela (Nathalia Timberg) on the mouth.
Fernanda Montenegro (2019-09-18) by Zô GuimarãesFolha de S.Paulo
The Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro organized an exhibition to celebrate her 50-year career. At 90, she was chosen as the Personality of 2018 by the Faz Diferença Award, promoted by the newspaper O Globo.
Fernanda Montenegro (2018-08-10) by Marcus LeoniFolha de S.Paulo
Grandmother to Davi (son of the director Cláudio Torres) and Joaquim and Antônio (sons of Fernanda Torres), that same year she published "Fernanda Montenegro: Itinerário Fotobiográfico". In 2019, the actress published her memoirs: "Prólogo, Ato, Epílogo".
The COVID-19 pandemic kept the Montenegro-Torres family isolated in a house in Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, but they remained active.
Fernanda Montenegro (2018-05-21) by Zô GuimarãesFolha de S.Paulo
The matriarch, her daughter Fernanda, grandson Joaquim Waddington, and son-in-law, director Andrucha Waddington, set out to produce and record a fictional series from home. Thus ‘Amor e Sorte’ was born.
Fernanda Montenegro (2018-05-21) by Zô GuimarãesFolha de S.Paulo
The success ensured a year-end special: ‘Gilda, Lucia e o Bode,’ which once again brought the entire family together, both in front of and behind the cameras. But there’s more. 2024 will see the premiere of the drama ‘Dona Vitória’ by Andrucha Waddington, in which Fernanda plays the title character.
The story is based on the real case of a Copacabana resident who filmed the drug trafficking happening in front of her apartment for two years. 'Vitória', 'Victoria', victory. Onl
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