Aracy Balabanian

Aracy Balabanian was born in 1940, in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. She was the daughter of a Chilean diplomat and a Brazilian mother. She moved to Rio de Janeiro when she was four years old. She studied at the drama school O Tablado before her film debut in 1966, in Moleques de Rua. She participated in several soap operas on Rede Globo, such as A Rainha Louca, Tempo de Viver and O Primeiro Amor. She also starred in many chanchada films, such as A Penúltima Donzela, Lúcia McCartney, Uma Garota de Programa and O Casamento. She won several awards for her film work, such as the Candango Trophy at the Brasília Film Festival and the Prêmio Air France. She was nicknamed "The Brazilian Greta Garbo" by a magazine. She married film director Carlos Matos in 1975, and they had an adopted daughter, Cristina, who became a singer. She suffered from natural causes for several years, which limited her ability to work in her later years. She died in 2023, at the age of 83, in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered in the sea, as she wished. She is regarded as one of the greatest and most versatile artists in Brazilian history, and an inspiration for many generations of artists.