Renata Carvalho (born 1981) is a Brazilian actress, playwright and theater director. She is from the city of Santos in São Paulo and began her career in the 1990s. She is trained in social sciences, and has dubbed herself a ''transpologist'', a combination of the terms transgender and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

to describe her work on trans experiences and bodies.

Early life and childhood

Born in 1981, Carvalho was born in Santos, São Paulo. Carvalho was forced out of her home and was involved in sex work and temporary work in a

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before formally taking up acting. She is a

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* Tr ...

, and began her gender transition while working as a volunteer against sexually transmitted infections in 2007.

Career

In theatre, she has appeared in ''Body Your Autobiography'', ''Manifesto Transpofágico'' (2012), ''Domínio Público'', ''The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven'' (2016) and ''Dentro de Mim Mora Outra'' (Inside Me Lives Another, 2013). On television, she appeared on the HBO Max series '' Pico da Neblina''. In film, she appeared as Paula in '' Dry Wind'' (2020) as well as the documentary ''Quem Tem Medo?'' (''Who's Afraid?'', 2020), which discusses censorship in the arts. She played a trans artist in '' The First Fallen'' (2022), a film about those affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s in Brazil, as well as the short film ''Se Trans For Mar'' (2023). She has also appeared in ''Um Inimigo do Povo'' (An Enemy of the People, 2023). Carvalho played Jesus Christ in the show ''The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven'', a translation by

Natalia Mallo Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a ...

of the original play of

Jo Clifford Jo Clifford (born 1951) is a British writer, performer, poet and teacher based in Edinburgh. In 2017, she was inducted into the Saltire Society's community of ''Outstanding women of Scotland'', and was given the Olwen Wymark award by the Wr ...

. Clifford later collaborated with Carvalho to premier the play in Brazil. Carvalho performed the title role over 200 times. This brought Carvalho to wider recognition and caused controversy, including being banned in several cities in the country, such as

Jundiaí Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the ...

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and Rio de Janeiro. ''Manifesto Transpofágico'' (based on a book of the same name that she wrote) received positive reviews. For her work as an actress in the film ''The First Fallen'', she received the Special Jury Award at the

52nd International Film Festival of India The 52nd International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November with ''The King of All the World'' (''El Rey de Todo El Mundo'') by Carlos Saura in Goa. Like 51st edition this edition was also held in hybrid format, that combined online and ...

and the Special Jury Award () at the 23rd Festival do Rio – Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. She was also nominanted for the for ''Um Inimigo do Povo'' (An Enemy of the People, 2023).

Activism

She is the founder of Monart (''Movimento Nacional de Artistas Trans'', National Movement of Trans Artists), a Brazilian national network for registering transgender artists to ensure greater representation in the arts. In 2020, she received a grant of for Monart through Afield, an international support network for artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvalho, Renata 1981 births Living people People from Santos, São Paulo Brazilian stage actresses Brazilian women dramatists and playwrights Brazilian transgender actresses Brazilian transgender writers Brazilian female prostitutes Brazilian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Transgender sex workers Transgender dramatists and playwrights Travestis 21st-century Brazilian LGBT people 20th-century Brazilian LGBT people