Glória Menezes has written more than 40 soap operas and shone with a film that won an award at Cannes; remember

Glória Menezes in 'Totalmente Demais' (2015) Globo/Paulo Belote The great Brazilian actress Glória Menezes died this Tuesday (18), aged 91, in Rio de Janeiro. One of the great names in Brazilian dramaturgy, she built a career spanning more than six decades in theater, cinema and television and acted in more than 40 Globo soap operas. Glória was born on October 19, 1934, in Pelotas (RS), and moved to São Paulo with her family when she was six years old. His given name, Nilcedes Soares de Magalhães, combined the letters of Nilo and Mercedes, his parents. It was under the artistic name Glória Menezes that she made more than 40 soap operas, as well as films and plays in which she became one of the most important actresses in Brazil. The beginning of her career was already breathtaking and, after that, she remained successful for more than 60 years. After finishing his studies in SP, he entered the School of Dramatic Arts at the University of São Paulo. She formed an amateur theater group with her colleagues called Jovens Independentes. In her first show, in 1959, she won the best new actress award at an amateur theater festival promoted by director Antunes Filho. He also made his first soap opera in 1959, “Um place ao Sol”. She was then invited by Antunes Filho to perform in the play "Feiticeiras de Salem", and behind the scenes of this show, she met her future husband, Tarcísio Meira. Leonardo Villar and Glória Menezes in the film 'O Pagador de Promises' Disclosure In 1960, he acted in "O Pagador de Promises", by Anselmo Duarte, which premiered two years later and won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. In 1963, he starred with Tarcísio in the first daily TV soap opera in Brazil, "25499 Ocupado", which was broadcast live on TV Excelsior. It was during this work that they started dating and later got married. Glória and Tarcísio then worked together on the soap operas "A Deusa Vencida" (1965) and "Almas de Pedra" (1966). The following year, they made their first soap opera on TV Globo, "Sangue e Areia", by Janete Clair. In 1968, they starred in different soap operas (Glória, "Passos do vento" and Tarcísio, "A gata de vison"). The public at the time found the couple playing romances with other people so strange that they had to return to do a soap opera together, "Rosa Rebelde", the following year. In 1970 came one of Glória's most striking works, "Irmãos Coragem", by Janete Clair, in which she plays a woman with three personalities: the demure Lara, the extravagant Diana and the balanced Márcia. In 1972, she starred in the first program shown entirely in color on Brazilian TV, "Meu Primeiro Baile", an episode of the program "Caso Especial". Tarcísio Meira and Glória Menezes in the soap opera 'Espelho Mágico' (1977) Acervo Grupo Globo In the 70s, she also made soap operas such as "O Grito" (1975), in which she played the drama of the mother of a child with mental problems, "Espelho Mágico", in which she played with Tarcísio a couple of actors who were recording another soap opera, and "Father Hero" (1979), as the striking character Ana Black. In theater, Glória performed "Tudo Bem no Ano Que Vem", by Bernard Slade, which ran for five years, from 1976 to 1981. Other important plays were "Navalha na Carne" (1981), by Plínio Marcos, and "Um Dia Very Especial" (1988), by Ettore Scola. In 1983, in the television hit "Guerra dos Sexos", she starred alongside Tarcísio Meira, but experienced a daring ending, in which she ended up with the character played by Mário Gomes. In 1988, the two starred in and co-produced the series "Tarcísio & Glória", in which she played the extraterrestrial Ava Becker, while Tarcísio played the corrupt businessman Bruno Lazzarini. Among the various characters in notable soap operas from the 1980s onwards are the vengeful Tereza from "Corpo a corpo" (1984), the bankrupt socialite Laurinha Figueroa from "Rainha da Sucata" (1990), the desperate housewife Marta Toledo in "Tower of Babel" (1998), the fun sorceress Zoroastra in "Kiss of the Vampire" (2002) and the Baroness from Bonsucesso, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, in "Senhora do Destino" (2004). Luis Gustavo and Glória Menezes in a scene from 'O Beijo do Vampiro' (2002) Divulgação/Globo In 2000, at the theater, she acted in "Jornada de um Poema", in which she played a terminal cancer patient. On TV, she returned to star alongside her husband in "Páginas da Vida" (2006), by Manoel Carlos, and "A Favorita" (2008), by João Emanuel Carneiro. In 2013, she made a special appearance in "Joia Rara" and, in 2015, she acted in "Totalmente Demais". In 2018, he participated in the comedy "Tá no Ar". In 2020, she participated in the series "The Couples We Love", on the Viva channel, about the stories of the most notable couples in Brazilian television drama. "I don't even know how to translate what our love is. It's such a different thing. I have a need to be close to him. I need him, and he needs me. 'My love', I have my way of calling it", she said, next to Tarcísio. Tarcísio Meira and Glória Menezes were married for 59 years, until his death in 2021. They formed one of the longest-lasting marriages on Brazilian television and are parents to fellow actor Tarcísio Filho. In 2025, the actress was honored in the Globoplay series "Tributo". "I feel like I bring a little bit of all these characters, all the women I played. They're all still here," said the actress in the series. Glória Menezes in ‘Brega & chic’ (1987) Nelson di Rago/TV Globo