Taís Bianca Gama de Araújo (; born 25 November 1978) is a Brazilian actress, TV host and model.
Her first prominent role on television was in 1996 as protagonist of the Brazilian telenovela ''
Xica da Silva'' by
Walcyr Carrasco
Walcyr Carrasco (born December 1, 1951) is a Brazilian author, film writer and television writer.
Career
Walcyr Rodrigues Carrasco was born on December 2, 1951, in Bernardino de Campos, São Paulo. Writer, playwright and screenwriter, began his ...
, in the
Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete (; lit.: Headline Network; also known as TV Manchete or only Manchete) was a Brazilian television network that was founded in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1983 by the Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and businessman Adolpho Bloch. The ne ...
. In 2004, she portrayed Preta in ''
Da Cor do Pecado
''Da Cor do Pecado'' (English title: ''Shades of Sin'') is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo in the traditional 7pm timeslot between 26 January and 28 August 2004 with a total of 185 episodes, replacing '' Kubanacan'' and ...
'' created by
João Emanuel Carneiro and she played Ellen, comic antagonist in the telenovela ''
Cobras & Lagartos
''Cobras & Lagartos'' (English title: ''Snakes & Lizards'') is a Brazilian telenovela that was produced and aired by TV Globo from 24 April to 18 November 2006, totaling 179 episodes.
The show featured Mariana Ximenes, Daniel de Oliveira as ma ...
'' in 2006. In 2009, she player her first role as protagonist in
primetime of Globo, one of the Helenas created by
Manoel Carlos in the telenovela ''
Viver a Vida
''Viver a Vida'' (literally: Living Life, English title: ''Seize the Day'') is a Brazilian telenovela broadcast by Globo from September 14, 2009 to May 14, 2010. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, ...
''—making her the first black woman to star in a prime time telenovela.
In 2012, she played Maria da Penha in the telenovela ''
Cheias de Charme
''Cheias de Charme'' (English: ''Sparkling Girls'') is a Brazilian musical telenovela produced and broadcast by Rede Globo. It premiered on 16 April 2012 and ran for 143 episodes, with the finale airing on 28 September 2012, replacing '' Aquele ...
'', the fourth lead role in her career. Her sixth leading role was playing the journalist Verônica Monteiro in technology oriented television series ''
Geração Brasil'', as part of the main trio of the plot, alongside
Cláudia Abreu and
Murilo Benício.
In of 2015, she took the lead of the musical comedy television series ''
Mister Brau'' opposite her husband
Lázaro Ramos
Luís Lázaro Sacramento Ramos (born November 1, 1978) is a prolific Brazilian actor, television presenter, director, writer, and voice actor. He started his acting career with the Flock of Olodum Theater group, in Salvador, and is best known f ...
. Taís is still touring the country with the play
O Topo da Montanha', which debuted in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
in 2015 and earned her a nomination for the Shell Award for Best Actress.
As a television host takes part in the program ''Saia Justa'' aired at the
GNT GNT may refer to:
* GNT, a Brazilian television channel
* '' George Negus Tonight'', an Australian television program
* Geschwindigkeitsüberwachung Neigetechnik, a German train safety system
* Good News Translation, a Bible translation
* Grand Na ...
network.
In 2016, an opinion poll (Pesquisa Qualibest) pointed out Taís Araújo as the woman most admired by young people between the ages of 13 and 20, the fifth most influential artist in television and internet in the country, according to the newspaper Meio & Message in partnership with Instituto Datafolha in 2016, and the fourth most influential in 2017.
In 2017 she was elected one of the 100 most influential personalities of the world under 40 years of age b
MIPAD and for this reason she participated in a debate at
Columbia University in New York
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan ...
.
In 2015, in the matter of the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
newspaper ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' on the series ''Mister Brau'', the pair Taís Araújo and Lázaro Ramos was quoted like featured in the Brazilian television. Also was chosen one of the most warlike and stylish women by the American magazine ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
''. She and her husband Lázaro Ramos wer shortlisted out as the most powerful of the national showbizz, in the cover of Veja magazine published in March 2017. On 3 July 2017, she was appointed as the Defender of Rights of Black Women by UN Women Brazil, a United Nations entity for gender equality and women's empowerment.
In her personal life, she and her husband Lázaro Ramos have two children.
Life and career
Taís Araújo was born in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
on 25 November 1978 as a premature birth of seven months. She is of
African,
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
descent. She is daughter to Ademir de Araújo, an economist and Mercedes de Araújo, an educationist. Araújo is the second daughter of her parents and her sister, Cláudia Araújo—a doctor—seven years older than her. She is also cousin to actor and singer
Marcello Melo Jr.
Marcelo Santos de Melo Júnior (born 19 November 1987) is a Brazilian actor, singer-songwriter, and model.
Biography
Marcelo Melo Jr. was born in Nova Iguaçu, in the Baixada Fluminense, RJ, and grew up in the Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro, Vidigal s ...
During her childhood, she lived with her family in
Méier
Méier is a middle class and upper middle class neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The neighborhood is the historic center of the "''Área dos Engenhos''", or "Mill Area", which today is known as ''Grande Méier'' (Great M ...
, neighbourhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Until the age of 8, Araújo mainly studied in private institutions. From her younger years through her large extent of her adolescence and youth she lived in
Barra da Tijuca
Barra da Tijuca () (usually known as Barra) is an upper-class neighborhood or bairro in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra is well known for its beaches, its many lake ...
. She studied journalism in
Estácio S.A. On 18 June 2011, she gave birth to her first son João Vicente de Araújo Ramos, a fruit of her marriage to
Lázaro Ramos
Luís Lázaro Sacramento Ramos (born November 1, 1978) is a prolific Brazilian actor, television presenter, director, writer, and voice actor. He started his acting career with the Flock of Olodum Theater group, in Salvador, and is best known f ...
. On 7 August 2014, Araújo announced that she was with child-a girl.
Her first character in telenovelas was in ''
Tocaia Grande
''Showdown'' (Portuguese: ''Tocaia Grande'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1984.
Plot
The novel deals with the foundation of a community, ''Tocaia Grande'' ("big ambush" in Portuguese), in a fertile agricultu ...
'' in 1995, directed by Walter Avancini. A few months later, Walter Avancini was set to direct the telenovela ''
Xica da Silva'', of 1996, and chose Araújo to be the lead, in
Rede Manchete
Rede Manchete (; lit.: Headline Network; also known as TV Manchete or only Manchete) was a Brazilian television network that was founded in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1983 by the Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and businessman Adolpho Bloch. The ne ...
.
The telenovela was exported to a good number of countries. In 2000, she was voted add one of the 50 most beautiful faces in the world by Spanish version of ''
People magazine
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...
''. In 1997, she moved to
Rede Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...
to star in ''
Anjo Mau'', playing Vivian. That same year he met the director Denise Saraceni, with whom he would return to work other times in his career.
In 2004, she received Kikito's Best supporting actress at the
Festival de Gramado
The Gramado Film Festival ( pt, Festival de Gramado) is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. In 1992, the festival began to award Latin American films produced outside of B ...
for her work on The Daughters of the Wind.
![Taís Araújo Ordem de Rio Branco Cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Ta%C3%ADs_Ara%C3%BAjo_Ordem_de_Rio_Branco_Cropped.png)
In 2006, she played the comic villain Ellen in ''
Cobras & Lagartos
''Cobras & Lagartos'' (English title: ''Snakes & Lizards'') is a Brazilian telenovela that was produced and aired by TV Globo from 24 April to 18 November 2006, totaling 179 episodes.
The show featured Mariana Ximenes, Daniel de Oliveira as ma ...
'', also created by Carneiro; she had an onscreen romance with then boyfriend
Lázaro Ramos
Luís Lázaro Sacramento Ramos (born November 1, 1978) is a prolific Brazilian actor, television presenter, director, writer, and voice actor. He started his acting career with the Flock of Olodum Theater group, in Salvador, and is best known f ...
. In 2006, she was the first black presenter of the program ''Superbonita'' of the channel
GNT GNT may refer to:
* GNT, a Brazilian television channel
* '' George Negus Tonight'', an Australian television program
* Geschwindigkeitsüberwachung Neigetechnik, a German train safety system
* Good News Translation, a Bible translation
* Grand Na ...
, where it would remain by three years, until 2009. In 2008, she returned to work with João Emanuel Carneiro, in ''
A Favorita''; portraying Alicia, daughter of a corrupt deputy played by
Milton Gonçalves
Milton Gonçalves (; 9 December 1933 – 30 May 2022) was a Brazilian actor and television director, who was one of the most famous black actors in Brazil, having collaborated twice with acclaimed director Héctor Babenco. One notable role with ...
, who for the second time, consecutively, was his father in a telenovela, the first one in ''Cobras & Lagartos''. After the end of ''A Favorita''s recordings in January 2009, the actress wrote her first article in the ''
Folha de S. Paulo'' newspaper in which she reported the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Separated from her husband Lázaro Ramos, she moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, with an intention to study
French. She got an offer from
Manoel Carlos, making her the first black actress in Brazilian television history to be the protagonist of a primetime novel—the 8 pm telenovelas that garner a large viewership—a role of Helena that has been portrayed by a number of actresses before.
The telenovela ''
Viver a Vida
''Viver a Vida'' (literally: Living Life, English title: ''Seize the Day'') is a Brazilian telenovela broadcast by Globo from September 14, 2009 to May 14, 2010. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, ...
'' was not as successful, and the role of Helena was marked as the biggest failure in Araújo's career, with the total rejection of the character, being criticized by the media and the viewers. At the time, and she came to think that it would be the end of her blossoming career, going through
depression for a period of two years.
In 2012, Araújo played the maid who turns singer, Maria da Penha, in the 7 pm comedy drama telenovela, ''
Cheias de Charme
''Cheias de Charme'' (English: ''Sparkling Girls'') is a Brazilian musical telenovela produced and broadcast by Rede Globo. It premiered on 16 April 2012 and ran for 143 episodes, with the finale airing on 28 September 2012, replacing '' Aquele ...
'', Created by Filipe Miguez and Izabel de Oliveira.
In addition to film and television, she has also performed in the theater. In 2013, she lived the secretary Sheila in the series ''O Dentista Mascarado'', a character of dubious character, owner of many facets, known in the square by various names.
In 2014, portrayed journalist Veronica in the ''
Geração Brasil'', working again with the creators Filipe Miguez and Izabel de Oliveira.
Taís was cast to play Michele in the series ''
Mister Brau'', with her spouse Lázaro Ramos.
In 2015, alongside Lázaro Ramos, she made her debut in the play the ''Top of the Mountain'' that earned her nomination for the contest Shell Prize of Better Actress
and took more than 100 thousand people to the theater. In 2016 starred in her seventh film, ''The Cup Steal'', in the role of Dolores inspired by Adele Fatima.
Personal life
Taís dated the singer and television host Netinho de Paula, at her time in the group Negritude Júnior in the late 1990s until the early 2000s. After the relationship with Netinho ended, Taís dated and became engaged to the
jiu-jitsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
fighter
Marcio Feitosa
Marcio Feitosa (May 16, 1976) is a Brazilian 6th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has learned directly from Carlos Gracie Jr., founder of the Gracie Barra Academy in Rio de Janeiro. He has risen to the podium eight times from 1997 ...
, with whom they broke up in 2004. Shortly thereafter, she began dating
Lázaro Ramos
Luís Lázaro Sacramento Ramos (born November 1, 1978) is a prolific Brazilian actor, television presenter, director, writer, and voice actor. He started his acting career with the Flock of Olodum Theater group, in Salvador, and is best known f ...
, whom she married in January 2007. In March 2008, the actors decided to separate amicably. Araújo got into a relationship with Allan Espinosa, son of
football coach Valdir Espinosa. Months later rumors began circulating that she and Ramos had reconciled. They announced their reconciliation in April 2009. On 18 June 2011, her first son, João Vicente, was born. In mid 2014, Araújo announced that she was expectant. Her daughter Maria Antônia was born on 23 January 2015, exactly at 8:45 am in the maternity ward of
Barra da Tijuca
Barra da Tijuca () (usually known as Barra) is an upper-class neighborhood or bairro in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra is well known for its beaches, its many lake ...
, in the West Zone of Rio; Claudia Araújo—Araújo's sister and obstetrician gynecologist—was one of the doctors who did the surgery.
On the night of 31 October 2015, the actress's
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page was the subject of
racist comments, and she stated in a posting: "I will not be intimidated, I will not lower my head either." The
hashtag #SomosTodosTaísAraújo became a
trending topic
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, a ...
on the morning of 1 November. The same case occurred with the journalist
Maria Júlia Coutinho and also the actresses Sheron Menezes and
Cris Vianna, victims of cyberbullying. The Office of the Prosecutor for Crimes of Informatics launched an investigation to determine the crime. In 2016, for her fight against racism, she received the honor in the Trip Transformadores Prize, of ''
Trip
Trip may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character
* Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers''
* Trip, in the 2013 film ''Metallica Through th ...
'' Magazine.
In 2017 she was invited to participate in a
Tedx
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
lecture in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, telling an audience of about nine thousand people about her experiences in social activism in the struggle for equal rights in society. Also in 2017, she was elected one of the 100 most influential Afro-descendant personalities in the world under the age of 40, and received the award in
New York.
Also in 2017 received a tribute in the ''Award Claudia'' promoted by the ''Claudia'' Magazine, of
Editora Abril
Editora Abril is a major Brazilian publisher and printing company and one of the biggest media holdings in Latin America. The company was founded in 1950 by Victor Civita in São Paulo and is now part of Grupo Abril.
Civita had initially founded ...
, in São Paulo, in the category hors concours, honor granted to the people that act by the equality of rights in the society.
Filmography
Television
Film
Theatre
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo, Tais
Living people
1978 births
20th-century Brazilian actresses
21st-century Brazilian actresses
20th-century Brazilian businesspeople
21st-century Brazilian businesspeople
Activists from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Afro-Brazilian feminists
Brazilian feminists
Afro-Brazilian actresses
Afro-Brazilian female models
Brazilian female models
Afro-Brazilian television hosts
Brazilian film actresses
Brazilian telenovela actresses
Brazilian musical theatre actresses
Brazilian theatre managers and producers
People from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Brazilian people of Austrian descent
Brazilian people of Portuguese descent
Brazilian stage actresses
Brazilian television actresses
Brazilian philanthropists
Social critics
Brazilian women philanthropists