Maria de Medeiros

Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida,[1] DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known as Maria de Medeiros (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾiɐ ðɨ mɨˈðɐjɾuʃ]), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is de Medeiros and the second or paternal family name is Victorino de Almeida.

Maria de Medeiros
De Medeiros at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Maria de Medeiros Esteves Victorino de Almeida

(1965-08-19) 19 August 1965
Lisbon, Portugal
NationalityPortuguese
OccupationActress, director, singer
Years active1981–present
Spouse(s)Agustí Camps
Children2
Parent(s)

Early life

Maria de Medeiros was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the daughter of musician and composer António Victorino de Almeida. She played her first part on screen at the age of 15. At 18, she moved to France to pursue her acting studies and was a student at the CNSAD.

Medeiros speaks French fluently without an accent and has acted extensively on stage and on screen in French productions. She also acts in German, Spanish and Italian productions. Medeiros is the first Portuguese woman to be designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace.[2]

Film career

Among Medeiros' most memorable film appearances are three early 1990s roles. Her considerable resemblance to Anaïs Nin landed her the primary role in Henry & June (1990), in which she played the author. In 1990, she played the role of Maria in Ken McMullen's film about the rise of the Paris Commune, 1871. In 1994, Medeiros appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction playing Fabienne, the girlfriend of Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis).

In 2000, Medeiros directed the film April Captains (in which she also had a small role) about the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[3]

In 2003, Medeiros appeared as a hairdresser in the movie My Life Without Me starring Sarah Polley. She has starred in the Canadian movie The Saddest Music in the World (2004) directed by Guy Maddin and co-starring Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney.

Music career

In 2007, Medeiros released the album A Little More Blue[2] on which she performs songs by Brazilian musicians, including Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Ivan Lins, and Dolores Duran. She sings in Portuguese, French ("Joana Francesa" by Buarque), and English ("A Little More Blue" by Veloso).

In 2009, she sang "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" on The Legendary Tigerman album Femina.

Her second recording, Penínsulas & Continentes, was released on 23 February 2010.

Selected filmography

As director
  • Sévérine C. (1987)
  • Fragmento II (1988)
  • A Morte do Príncipe (1991)
  • April Captains (2000)
  • Mathilde au matin (2004)
  • Je t'aime moi non plus (2004)
  • Repare Bem (2012)

As actress

Discography
  • A Little More Blue (2007)
  • Penínsulas & Continentes (2010)
  • Pássaros Eternos (2013)
  • The Piano's Playing the Devil's Tune (2016) — with Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift

Collaborations

References
  1. "Maria de Medeiros, * 1965 - Geneall.net". geneall.net.
  2. "Maria de Medeiros". Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. "Festival de Cannes: April Captains". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
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