Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida, DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.

Early life

Maria de Medeiros was born in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, 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 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 UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Amba ...

Film career

Among Medeiros' most memorable film appearances are three early 1990s roles. Her considerable resemblance to

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

landed her the primary role in ''

Henry & June ''Henry & June'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, and tel ...

'' (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 The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

, ''

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

''. In 1994, Medeiros appeared in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

'' playing Fabienne, the girlfriend of

Butch Coolidge ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

(

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

). In 2000, Medeiros directed the film ''

April Captains ''April Captains'' ( pt, Capitães de Abril) is a 2000 film telling the story of the '' Carnation Revolution'', the military coup that overthrew the corporatist dictatorship (known as the '' Estado Novo'') in Portugal on 25 April 1974. Although dr ...

'' (in which she also had a small role) about the 1974

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

in Portugal. The film was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

2000 Cannes Film Festival The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film ''Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier. The fe ...

. In 2003, Medeiros appeared as a hairdresser in the movie ''

My Life Without Me ''My Life Without Me'' is a 2003 Spanish-Canadian Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo, Scott Speedman, and Leonor Watling. Based on the 1997 short story collection ''Pretending ...

'' starring

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

. She has starred in the Canadian movie ''

The Saddest Music in the World ''The Saddest Music in the World'' is a 2003 Canadian film directed by Guy Maddin. Budgeted at $3.8-million and shot over 24 days, the film marks Maddin's first collaboration with actor Isabella Rossellini. Maddin and co-screenwriter George Toles ...

'' (2004) directed by

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

and co-starring

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...

and

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

Music career

In 2007, Medeiros released the album ''A Little More Blue'' on which she performs songs by Brazilian musicians, including

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

Ivan Lins Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945) is a Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over thirty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by ...

, and

Dolores Duran Dolores Duran (''Adiléia Silva da Rocha''; 7 June 1930 – 24 October 1959) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Early life Adiléia Silva da Rocha was born in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or si ...

. 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' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

" on

The Legendary Tigerman Paulo Furtado (born 9 September 1970) is a Portuguese singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Legendary Tigerman. Furtado started his music career in the lates 1980s when he joined the psychobilly band Tédio Boys. After leaving ...

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) *''

'' (2000) *''Mathilde au matin'' (2004) *''Je t'aime moi non plus'' (2004) *''Repare Bem'' (2012)

As actress

*''Silvestre'' (1981) *''Sorceress (Le Moine et la sorcière)'' (1987) *''

'' (1990) *''

Meeting Venus ''Meeting Venus'' is a 1991 British–American-Japanese film directed by the Hungarian director István Szabó and starring Glenn Close and Niels Arestrup. The movie was filmed in Budapest, Hungary. This fictional story follows misadventure ...

'' (1991) *''

Huevos de Oro ''Golden Balls'' ( es, Huevos de oro, links=no) is a 1993 film directed by Bigas Luna which stars Javier Bardem. Plot Benito González is a flamboyant engineer in Melilla, with a brash and pushy personality. His dream is to build the tallest buil ...

'' (1993) *''

'' (1994) *''

Adão e Eva ''Adão e Eva'' is a 1995 Portuguese film directed by Joaquim Leitão. Cast *Maria de Medeiros *Joaquim de Almeida * Ana Bustorff *Karra Elejalde Carlos Elejalde Garay (born 10 October 1960) better known as Karra Elejalde, is a Spanish actor ...

'' (1995) *''

Polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...

'' (1996) *''Go for Gold'' (1997) *''

Airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...

'' (1997) *''

Spanish Fly The Spanish fly (''Lytta vesicatoria'') is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia. The species and others in its family were used in traditional apothecary preparations ...

'' (1998) *''

'' (2000) *''

Deuxième vie ''Deuxième vie'' ( French for "Second Life") is a 2000 French comedy and fantasy film directed by Patrick Braoudé. It stars the same Braoudé and focuses on time travel. It is set during the period of the football World Cups of 1982 and 1998. ...

'' (2000) *''Honolulu Baby'' (2001) *''

A Samba for Sherlock ''O Xangô de Baker Street'' (English title: ''A Samba for Sherlock'') is 2001 Brazilian-Portuguese film directed by Miguel Faria, Jr., based on the novel of the same name by Jô Soares. The film was first announced in 1996, but filming only sta ...

'' (2001) *'' Stranded: Náufragos'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *''

I, Cesar ''I, Cesar'' (french: Moi César, 10 ans ½, 1m39) is a 2003 French comedy film directed by Richard Berry. Plot César is a young boy living in Montmartre, Paris, with his parents. Morgan, his friend, tries to find his father in London. César a ...

(Moi César, 10 ans 1/2, 1m39)'' (2003) *''

'' (2004) *''

The Remains of Nothing ''The Remains of Nothing'' ( it, Il resto di niente) is a 2004 Italian historical drama film directed by Antonietta De Lillo. It was screened out of competition at the 61st Venice International Film Festival. It won the David di Donatello Award f ...

'' (2004) *'' Je m'appelle Élisabeth'' (2006) *'' Medea Miracle'' (2007) *'' Midsummer Madness'' (2007) *'' Fallen Heroes'' (2007) *'' Riparo'' (aka ''

Shelter Me ''Shelter Me'' is the second album by Australian folk band The Waifs, first released by Jarrah in March 1998. Track listing #"Heart Lies" (Cunningham) – 2:43 #"People Who Think They Can" (V. Simpson) – 3:15 #"Shelter Me" (Cunningham) – 3: ...

'') (2007) *''My Stars'' (2008) *''

David's Birthday ''David's Birthday'', (Italian title: ''Il compleanno''), is a 2009 Italian drama film directed by Marco Filiberti. Plot Two pairs of friends, Matteo & Francesca and Shary & Diego, decide to spend the summer together in a beach house at the foot o ...

'' (2009) *''

O Contador de Histórias ''O Contador de Histórias'' (''The Story of Me'' or (Australian title) The Storyteller) is a 2009 Brazilian film directed by Luiz Villaça, based on the life of Roberto Carlos Ramos, a Brazilian teacher and storyteller brought up in a state educa ...

'' (aka ''The Story of Me'') (2009) *'' Chicken with Plums'' (2011) *''

Holidays by the Sea ''Holidays by the Sea'' (french: Ni à vendre ni à louer) is a 2011 French comedy film directed by Pascal Rabaté. The film is a cinematic rendering of a comic that Rabaté himself wrote. Like in some films of Jacques Tati, the characters use e ...

'' (2011) *''

Journey to Portugal ''Journey to Portugal'' (''Viagem a Portugal'' in Portuguese) is a non-fiction book on Portugal by Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago. It was first published in 1981 by Círculo de Leitores e Editorial Caminho. Critical assessment An En ...

'' (2011) *''

Dream and Silence ''Dream and Silence'' ( es, Sueño y silencio) is a 2012 Spanish drama film directed by Jaime Rosales (director), Jaime Rosales. The film was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Yolanda Galocha ...

'' (2012) *''Women Directors, talking on a blade'' (2014) *''

Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

'' (2014) *'' The Forbidden Room'' (2015) *''

Le Fils de Joseph ''The Son of Joseph'' (french: Le Fils de Joseph) is a 2016 Franco-Belgian drama film written and directed by Eugène Green. It was screened in the Forum section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Victor Ezenfis as Vincent * ...

'' (2016) *'' The Killer'' (2017) *''

The Broken Key ''The Broken Key'' is a 2017 English-language Italian independent film written and directed by Louis Nero. Cast * Andrea Cocco as Arthur J. Adams * Diana Dell'Erba as Sara Eve * Marco Deambrogio as James Mind * Christopher Lambert as Francis Rose ...

'' (2017) *''

Verdades Secretas ''Verdades Secretas'' (English: ''Hidden Truths'') is a Brazilian telenovela created by Walcyr Carrasco and directed by Mauro Mendonça Filho and Amora Mautner. Produced and broadcast by TV Globo, it premiered on 8 June 2015. The telenovela was ...

'' (2021)

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

*''Drama Box'', by

Mísia Mísia (born Susana Maria Alfonso de Aguiar, in 1955 in Porto, Portugal) is a Portuguese fado singer. Mísia is a polyglot. Despite singing mostly fado, she has sung some of her songs in Spanish, French, Catalan, English, and even Japanese. ...

(2005) *''Rendez-vous chez

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

'', CD+DVD from the Italian

Mauro Gioia Mauro Gioia (born 4 May 1966) is a Neapolitan singer and director. Songs His last album was “Rendez-vous Chez Nino Rota”, in which he performed the legendary Milanese composer's duets with Ute Lemper, Catherine Ringer, Sharleen Spiteri, Maria ...

(2008), with

Adriana Calcanhotto Adriana Calcanhotto (born October 3, 1965) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Her melancholic songs are often categorized in the MPB genre. She began her professional career in 1984 and released her first studio album in 1990. Career Born from ...

Martirio Maribel Quiñones or ''María Isabel Quiñones Gutiérrez'' in full, known under her stage name as Martirio (a Spanish given name meaning ''Martyrdom'' or ''Torment'', in English) is a Spanish singer born in 1954 in Huelva, Spain. She borrows her ...

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velma ...

Catherine Ringer Catherine Ringer (, born 18 October 1957 in Suresnes, France) is a French singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, choreographer, actress, and co-founder of the pop rock group Les Rita Mitsouko. She is also the daughter of ...

Susana Rinaldi Susana Natividad Rinaldi was born om December 25, 1935 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is an Argentine tango singer. Biography Susana Natividad Rinaldi was born to a wealthy father and a poor mother in Buenos Aires in 1935. Dubbed "La Tana" (in r ...

and

Sharleen Spiteri Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer and guitarist, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas (band), Texas. She has a contralto vocal range. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 mi ...

. De Medeiros sings "La pappa col pomodoro" *''Femina'', by The Legendary Tigerman (2009). De Medeiros sings "

" *''Señora (ellas cantan a Serrat)'' (2009). De Medeiros sings "Nanas de la Cebolla"

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medeiros, Maria De 1965 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese actresses 21st-century Portuguese actresses French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni French-language singers Golden Globes (Portugal) winners People from Lisbon Portuguese expatriates in Spain Portuguese film actresses Portuguese film directors Portuguese women film directors Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners