Fernanda Montenegro

Acting

Fernanda Montenegro

Born 1929-10-16 · Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Arlette Pinheiro Monteiro Torres CRB • GCONM • COCS • OMC (Rio de Janeiro, October 16, 1929), better known as Fernanda Montenegro, is a Brazilian actress and writer. She is often referred to as "the grand dame of Brazilian dramaturgy" and "the greatest actress in the history of Brazil" for her extensive work in cinema, theater and television. Internationally recognized, Fernanda was the first Brazilian to win the International Emmy in the best actress category for her performance in Doce de Mãe (2013), in addition to winning a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and receiving nominations for Golden Globe and Academy Award for best actress for her work in Central do Brasil (1998), being the first Latin American, Portuguese-speaking and Brazilian woman to be nominated in this category.

Acting credits

I'm Still Here poster
7.9

A woman married to a former politician during the 1971 military dictatorship in Brazil is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family after a violent and arbitrary act.

I'm Still Here

2024

A Dog's Will poster
8.4

The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small town in Northeastern Brazil. When they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary before they are admitted to paradise.

A Dog's Will

2000

Love in the Time of Cholera poster
6.7

In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.

Love in the Time of Cholera

2007

Vitória poster
7.8

Nina is an elderly woman who lives alone and feels distressed by the increasing violence in her neighborhood. Amidst conflicts with her neighbors, she decides to film the movement of drug traffickers from her window, hoping to assist the police. After months of recording suspicious activities, her initiative attracts the attention of a journalist, who approaches Nina and offers to support her in her mission.

Vitória

2025

Guarnieri poster
7.2

Develops from the life, work and memory of Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, one of the most important names in the history of Brazilian theater, to examine the courses of dramaturgy and politics in the last decades. Guarnieri, besides being a TV star, was also seen as the synthesis of the politically engaged artist in Brazil. His sons, also actors, saw a separation between art, work, and politics. As he investigates the portraits of two generations, grandson and director Francisco aims to understand the place of his own generation in history, in art and the world as a whole.

Guarnieri

2017

Central Station poster
8.1

An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.

Central Station

1998

Old Bandits poster
6.9

An elderly retired couple teams up with young partners to plan a daring bank robbery, while trying to outwit a detective determined to stop them.

Old Bandits

2026

Childhood poster
7.7

The film uses delicacy and humor to describe the authoritarian functioning of a typically Brazilian 1950 family in Rio de Janeiro. The family is headed by a matriarch anxiously waiting for the night to hear Carlos Lacerda. The intense emotional plot highlights the absurdity of the characters' behavior.

Childhood

2014

Teatro Brasileiro: Origem e Mudança poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Teatro Brasileiro: Origem e Mudança

1975

Invisible Life poster
7.8

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.

Invisible Life

2019

Good Luck poster
7.3

After several behavior problems, teenager John is admitted to a psychiatric clinic by his family. There he meets Judith, for who he soon falls in love. The problem is that she does not have long to live and they know it. This shall not prevent the emergence of a great romance in the clinic.

Good Luck

2014

Rio, I Love You poster
4.8

The third episode of the Cities of Love franchise, Rio, I Love You is an anthology, created by 10 visionary directors from across the globe. The story line of each segment focuses on an encounter of love in a different neighborhood of the city, demonstrating the distinctive qualities and character of that location. The film serves to bridge gaps between cultures, educating and entertaining the audience, while celebrating unique and universal expressions of love.

Rio, I Love You

2014

Mortal Sin poster
7.0

The eccentric members of a wealthy Brazilian family each go through personal torment, debauchery and intense guilt. The father has made a fortune in the slaughterhouse business and ignores the feelings of his wife and his workers. When the mother threatens to leave, the father begs for her to stay and continue the hollow charade of their marriage for the sake of social appearances.

Mortal Sin

1970

A Primeira Missa ou Tristes Tropeços, Enganos e Urucum poster
2.0

On set, in the middle of the Atlantic Forest, a stressed film director begins another day of filming, reproducing the celebration of the first mass in Brazil. Suddenly three strange agents emerge from the forest and abruptly interrupt the scene. Authoritarians, they confiscate the filmed negatives. The paranoid director grumbles: "Are they from the government?". The execution of the film is compromised. Will the director in trouble be able to complete his film?

A Primeira Missa ou Tristes Tropeços, Enganos e Urucum

2014

Cícero Dias, o Compadre de Picasso poster
4.5

The Pernambuco painter Cicero Dias created an unparalleled art for the world. Close to a modernist and influenced by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger and Joan Miró, he marked the history of Brazilian art.

Cícero Dias, o Compadre de Picasso

2016

Hour of the Star poster
7.3

Macabéa has just moved to the big city after her aunt, who raised her, died. She gets a job as a typist and moves into a boarding house with three other women. In her spare time, she listens to a radio station called Time; on Sundays, she likes to ride the metro. Then she meets Olímpico, a northeasterner like herself, who has dreams of becoming a congressman.

Hour of the Star

1986

Cena Secreta poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Cena Secreta

2011

The Rogue's Trial poster
6.6

After 20 years missing, João Grilo returns to Taperoá to join his old friend Chicó and, after his story of resurrection spreads, he is disputed as an electoral candidate by the two most powerful politicians in the city.

The Rogue's Trial

2024

O Juízo poster
7.1

Augusto moves with his family to an abandoned farm, inherited from his grandfather, hoping to put his life back on track. The property, however, carries the karma of the betrayal of the slave Couraça who seeks revenge against Augusto's family.

O Juízo

2019

Four Days in September poster
7.5

Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.

Four Days in September

1997

No artwork available
9.5

No synopsis available yet.

O Gesto, a Festa, a Mensagem - Dois Mil Anos de Teatro

1976

Minha Namorada poster
6.0

Middle-class teenage girl has a serious boyfriend that her parents approve of. Suddenly, she meets another boy with whom she is shown to have a greater identification.

Minha Namorada

1970

A Esperança é Eterna poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

A Esperança é Eterna

1954

Sweet Mother poster
8.7

Picucha may seem old-fashioned, but she has modern ideas and a great sense of humor. As the matriarch of a big family, she is involved in the daily lives of her children, grandchildren and other relatives. Undeterred by the typical problems of old age, she uses her many years of experience to solve problems in the best way possible.

Sweet Mother

2012