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Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda 1941.JPG
Miranda, published by New York Sunday News (1941)
Born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha
(1909-02-09)9 February 1909
Marco de Canaveses, Portugal
Died 5 August 1955(1955-08-05) (aged 46)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death Heart Attack
Resting place São João Batista Cemetery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other names The Brazilian Bombshell
The Chiquita Banana Girl
A Pequena Notável (in Brazil)
Education Convent of Saint Therese of Lisieux
Occupation Singer, dancer, actress
Years active 1928–1955
Spouse(s) David Alfred Sebastian (m. 1947–55) (her death)
Relatives
Website www.carmenmiranda.com.br
Signature
Cursive signature in ink

Carmen Miranda, GCIHOMC (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaɾmẽȷ̃ miˈɾɐ̃dɐ], February 9, 1909 – August 5, 1955) was a Portuguese-Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress, and film star who was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Miranda became a popular radio and film star in Brazil in the late 1920s. Her first albums soon made her a national star. Miranda's career in Brazil as a singer of samba was established in the 1920s and 1930s, when she recorded gramophone records, performed regularly on the radio stations of Rio de Janeiro, and was featured in many of the first sound films or chanchadas made in Brazil. By the mid-1930s she had become the most popular female Brazilian singer.Lee Shubert, a Broadway businessman, offered Carmen Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris on Broadway after seeing her perform in a casino in Urca, Rio de Janeiro in 1939.

In 1940, she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way, with Don Ameche and Betty Grable; her exotic clothing and Latin accent became her trademark. In the same year, she was voted the third most popular personality in the United States, and was invited to sing and dance for President Franklin Roosevelt, along with her group, Bando da Lua. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", Carmen Miranda is noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in her American films, particularly in 1943's The Gang's All Here. By 1945, she was the highest paid woman in the United States.

Miranda made a total of fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. Though hailed as a talented performer, her popularity waned by the end of World War II. She later grew to resent the stereotypical "Brazilian Bombshell" image she cultivated and attempted to break free of it, with limited success. Undaunted, Miranda focused increasingly on her nightclub appearances, also becoming a fixture on television variety shows—indeed, for all the stereotyping she faced throughout her career, her performances made huge strides in popularizing Brazilian music, while at the same time paving the way for the increasing awareness of all Latin culture.


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