Fernanda Brandao

Fernanda Brandão
Fernanda Brandão as Puma testimonial in Ibbenbüren, Germany, 26 March 2016
Background information
Birth name	Fernanda Brandão
Also known as	Fernanda Brandão, Laava
Born	(1983-05-03) 3 May 1983 (age 33)
Origin	Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, Latin pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, dancer, songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Edel Records, Robbins Entertainment, Polydor, Universal

Fernanda Brandão Gonçalves da Silva (born 3 May 1983 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is a Brazilian singer, dancer and recording artist, based in Munich, Germany. She became famous under her stage name Laava, then with Latin pop trio, Hot Banditoz ().

Fernanda Brandão was born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and grew up in Rio de Janeiro. By the age of four, she had danced at the Rio Carnival and sung to samba folklore hits. She came from an artistic family, with her mother having produced some successful Brazilian pop songs, and her aunt and uncle being well-known singers in Brazil, and she spent much of her childhood in recording studios. When she was nine, she moved with her family to Hamburg Germany. Although her music originates from Germany, Brandão considers herself a Brazilian and often travels between the two countries.

In Germany, she took lessons in jazz, modern dance, hip hop, ballet and voice. Brandão, who speaks Portuguese, Spanish, German and English, left school early in 2001, so as to be able to concentrate solely on her music career. She also appeared as a dancer in many music videos and live shows for major international artistes including Enrique Iglesias, Kylie Minogue, Pink, Shaggy, Coolio, Gabriella Cilmi, Safri Duo and rock group Seed. She has further participated in various stage and television appearances of artists including Modern Talking, ATC, Sarah Connor and Rick Astley. As well as being a choreographer for various music videos, fashion shows and events, she is a licensed fitness trainer in aerobics, body pump and Tae Bo.