Actress Marília Pêra dies in Rio

Actress Marília Pêra, 72, died today (Dec. 5) at 6 am, at her house in Rio de Janeiro. She died after a two-year struggle against lung cancer.

One of the most versatile Brazilian actresses, Marília Pêra has worked in theater, television and films. She was also a singer, dancer, choreographer, producer and director of theater plays and musical shows. The actress was born in Rio on January 22nd, 1943, daughter of the actors couple, Manuel Pêra and Dinorah Marzullo. Pêra leaves three children.

Marília Pêra's career has been build with impressive numbers. On theater, as actress and director, she acted in 55 plays. She took the leading role in five plays to honor Carmen Miranda. She also performed the role of Maria Callas and Coco Chanel. In movies, her films mount to 27 and in television, she took roles in 26 soap operas and TV shows. She received a total of 37 awards for best actress from 1969 to 2009.

On television, she acted in dozens of soap operas and miniseries. She was member of the first cast on Globo TV in 1965. Her last work at the broadcaster was the TV show “Pé na Cova” [One foot in the grave, in an unofficial translation], aired since 2013. Recently she had taken time off from work for medical treatment.

On the movies, she gave an outstanding performance as a prostitute in the film Pixote, directed by Hector Babenco (1980). Some of the remarkable films in which she acted were: Tieta, from Carlos Diegues; Central Station, from Walter Salles, and Bar Esperanza, from Hugo Carvana.

Through her Twitter profile, President Dilma Rousseff expressed her sorrow with Actress Marília Pêra's death. "She was one of the most talented artists of the country, and has dedicated her life to art," said the president.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta