Teresa Gomes de Almeida (

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 ...

, 26 November 1883 -

, 13 November 1962) was a

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 ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Biography

Teresa Gomes was born in

, at number 60 Rua de Santo António à Estrela, parish of Santa Isabel, on 26 November 1883, the natural daughter of

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

Ludgero Veríssimo Gomes (born in Lisbon, in the parish of

Santos-o-Velho Santos-o-Velho () is a former ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Lisbon, Portugal, with an area of 0.51 km2 and 4,013 inhabitants (2001). It has a population density of 7899.6 inhabitants/km2. At the administrative reorganization of Lis ...

) and Teresa Melanda (born in

Alhadas Alhadas is a town in the municipality of Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coa ...

, in the municipality of

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, it is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, west ...

). At the age of 23, on 26 August 1907, she married the merchant António Sampaio Martins, a native of the parish of São Bartolomeu in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

, in the oratory of the Cadeia da Relação in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, where her fiancé was imprisoned for unknown reasons. She later separated from António Sampaio Martins. Her vocation for the theatre was awakened when she was 26, on a voyage aboard a

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

during which she came into contact with the

theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Afonso Taveira Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

and her future husband, the actor

Álvaro de Almeida Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

, with whom she got together, still married to her first husband. In 1911, she made her debut as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

in the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

''A Musa dos Estudantes'', at the

Trindade Theatre The ''Teatro da Trindade'' is a theatre in the Chiado neighbourhood of Lisbon, Portugal, built in the 19th century. It is one of the oldest theatres in Lisbon still in operation. Construction and opening In 1866, Francisco Pereira Palha de Fari ...

, where she remained for eight years and from then on played important roles, such as the emblematic

Alfacinhas ''Alfacinha'' is a term to denote a person from Lisbon, the etymology of which is unclear. The first known reference arises in the mid-19th century, in the book ''Travels in My Land'' by Almeida Garrett (1846), "For you shall be ''Alfacinhas'' fo ...

. Having established herself as a class act, she moved on to the

São Luiz Theatre SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, where her

comedic Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

flair was revealed in her first revue as an actress, in

Eduardo Schwalbach Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese football ...

's Pé de Meia, in 1919, or her interpretation of the role of "comadre Zefa" in the play Dois Garotos, among many others. In addition to the Portuguese revue, Teresa Gomes experimented with declamatory theatre,

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

and the dramatic genre, having worked with the companies of José Ricardo, Nascimento Fernandes,

Maria Matos Maria de Conceição de Matos Ferreira da Silva (29 September 1886 – 19 September 1952) was a Portuguese actress and theatre personality. Career Matos studied piano, singing and dramatic art at the Royal Conservatory of Lisbon, and for her fin ...

, Maria José das Neves, Hortense Luz, Vasco Morgado, Rey Colaço-Robles Monteiro Company, Maria Vitória and Avenida, among others. She was a very popular actress and held in high esteem by the public.

Death and aftermath

Now retired, she died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

on 13 November 1962, aged 78, on the fourth floor of 166 Rua Rodrigues Sampaio, in the parish of

Coração de Jesus Coração de Jesus is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 26,611 in a total area of 2,236 km². It became a municipality in 1912.

, where she lived. Her funeral, which left the

Estrela Basilica The Estrela Basilica ( pt, Basílica da Estrela ) or the Royal Basilica and Convent of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( pt, Real Basílica e Convento do Santíssimo Coração de Jesus), is a minor basilica and ancient carmelite convent in Lisbon, ...

for the

Prazeres Cemetery Prazeres Cemetery ( pt, Cemitério dos Prazeres) is one of the largest cemeteries in Lisbon, Portugal; it is located in the ''freguesia'' (civil parish) of Estrela, in western Lisbon (formerly, within the parish of Prazeres). It is considered to ...

, where the actress was buried in the Talhão dos Artistas, was largely attended by the population, who wanted to pay their last respects. Her name is present in the

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

of some places of:

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...

(in the parish of

Charneca de Caparica Charneca de Caparica () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Almada, Lisbon metropolitan area The Lisbon Metropolitan Area ( pt, Área Metropolitana de Lisboa; abbreviated as AML) is a metropolitan area in Portugal centered on Lisbo ...

Amadora Amadora () is a municipality and urbanized city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78 km² (9.2 sq mi). It is the most densely populated mun ...

(in the parish of Venda Nova),

(in the parish of

São Domingos de Benfica São Domingos de Benfica () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in northern Lisbon, São Domingos de Benfica is east of Benfica, south of Carnide, west of Alvalade, and north of Campolide. Th ...

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Proc ...

of 25 October 1971),

Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

(in the parishes of

Fernão Ferro Fernão Ferro is a civil parish, in the municipality of Seixal in the district of Setúbal, Portugal. It is part of the Lisbon metropolitan area. The population in 2011 was 17 059,Torre da Marinha),

Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Setúbal Bay, near the mouth of the Sa ...

(in the parish of Castelo),

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

(in the parish of Azeitão) and

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...

(in the parish of

Algueirão–Mem Martins Algueirão – Mem Martins () is a Portuguese civil parish, in the municipality (''concelho'') of Sintra. It was elevated from the status of village to town on 1 February 1988. History Toponymy The toponym 'Algueirão' dates back to the Muslim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Teresa 1883 births 1962 deaths Portuguese actresses Knights of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Portuguese stage actresses Portuguese film actresses