Maria Luisa Mendonca
Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, trained in theater, she has made a career in TV. On stage, she has performed in plays by Nelson Rodrigues (The Wedding Gown), Pirandello (The Giants of the Mountain) and Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet). She shot to fame in Brazil upon playing the difficult role of the hermaphrodite Buba in the serial Renascer. She has played major roles in specials, serials and miniseries (most notably Engra(adinha, based on a play by Nelson Rodrigues). After a special appearance in Who Killed Pixote?, Maria Luisa starred with Walter Quiroz in Foolish Heart by
Hector Babenco. She played opposite Aluizio Abranches in As Três Marias as Maria Rosa. In Carandiru, Maria Luisa is Dalva, a middle-class girl who abandons her boyfriend when she falls in love at first sight with Highness (played by Ailton Graça). She is white, he is black. Her conservative, racist family is against the marriage. Dalva defies them, marries Highness and has three children with him. Passionately in love with him, she stands by her imprisoned husband and fights to keep him from Rosirene (played by Aida Leiner).
Maria Luisa Mendonca Facts
Selected Filmography
