Carmen Silva

Silva was born Maria Amália Feijó in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on April 5, 1916.[2] Her acting career only began in earnest in 1939 when she took a job at Rádio Cultura in Pelotas.[2] She worked at the station, as well as others, in various capacities, until she moved to São Paulo, where she joined Radio Tupi.[2] She also worked on Rádio Record with Janete Clair.[2] The two wrote programs aimed at a female audience.[2]

Silva's career switched to the newly popular medium of television during the 1950s. She began acting in soap operas and telenovelas during the decade, including A Próxima Atração, Ossos do Barão, Sinal de Alerta, as well as the miniseries O Primo Basílio.[2] She also founded her own theater company in Rio Grande do Sul during the 1960s.[2]

Silva hit a career highlight when she joined the popular Brazilian telenovela Mulheres Apaixonadas in 2003.[1] She played an elderly character, Flora de Souza Duarte, while Brazilian actor Oswaldo Louzada portrayed her husband, Leopoldo Duarte, on the soap opera.[1] Their characters often suffered ill treatment at the hands of their granddaughter, Dóris, who was played by actress Regiane Alves.[1]

Carmen Silva last acting role was the in 2007 film, Valsa para Bruno Stein (Waltz for Bruno Stein), which was shown at the 2007 Festival de Gramado film festival.[2]

Carmen Silva died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome at the Hospital Mãe de Deus in age of 92 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on April 21, 2008.[2] She had been hospitalized since April 1, 2008, for treatment of her illness.[2] Silva was buried at the Irmandade Arcanjo São Miguel e Almas cemetery in Porto Alegre.[1]

Sadly, Oswaldo Louzada, who played her television husband on Mulheres Apaixonadas, also died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, the same disease that afflicted Silva on February 22, 2008.[1]

• Carmem Silva at IMDb
• Folha Online: Oswaldo Louzada dies in Rio at 95 (in Portuguese)