Maria Fernanda Cândido
Maria Fernanda Cândido
Cândido at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
Born (1974-05-21) 21 May 1974
Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
EducationSt. Louis College
Alma materUniversity of São Paulo
Occupations
  • Actress
  • television presenter
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Spouse
Petrit Spahira
​
(m. 2005)​
Children2

Maria Fernanda Cândido (born 21 May 1974) is a Brazilian actress, television presenter, and former model.[2]

Biography

Maria Fernanda Cândido lived in Curitiba from the age of four to twelve, when she moved to São Paulo with her family. Her parents, José Reginaldo and Agda, were merchants.

Once in São Paulo, she was enrolled in the prestigious Colégio São Luiz, where she proved to be a good student. At 14, she began her career as a professional model after being discovered by one of her neighbours, who was a fashion producer. She modeled for fashion publications, magazine covers, and campaigns for famous brands. At age 15, during school summer breaks, she travelled to Paris to work. In total, she spent five years juggling school, fashion shows, and photo shoots.

After finishing high school, she lived in New York City for six months and, before returning to Brazil, went to the French capital for another season of runway shows. She always made a good impression on her co-workers due to her punctuality and discipline regarding schedules. More than a year living abroad was enough for her to decide to put an end to her international modeling career.[3]

Back in Brazil, she applied for, and was accepted at USP, where she studied occupational therapy, studying in the full-time programme for three years before dropping out to join MTV, working as a VJ hosting the show Ilha do Biquini (Bikini Island). After shooting the pilot, unhappy with the outcome, she sought technical improvement in a studio in São Paulo. As a result of that experience, she discovered her talent for on-camera work. She formally withdrew from college to study vocal technique with Fátima Toledo, a famous speech therapist, in order to focus on acting for the cinema.[4]

Real success came in 1999. After sending a videobook to TV director Jayme Monjardim, of Rede Globo, she was invited to audition and soon joined the cast of Terra Nostra soap-opera in the role of an Italian young woman, Paola.[5] For that job, she hired a dialect coach in order to improve her Italian pronunciation.[6] The role led to her winning the prestigious Troféu Imprensa[7] and in 2000 she was voted the most beautiful woman of the century in a poll conducted by Fantástico a Sunday evening TV show. At the time, she was compared to the young Sophia Loren, the Italian legend, paralleling the latter's beauty and talent.[8] Like her character in the soap opera, Cândido's great-grandmother, arrived in Brazil around 1880. The actress is a descendant of the Bortolacci and Malvezi families on her mother's side and the Guiraldellis on her father's side, both coming from Venice, northern Italy. "The funny thing is that I go by the Cândido family name, highlighting the only part of my heritage that is actually Brazilian," she stresses. Another coincidence between her own family's history and the soap opera is that her family settled in the same area where the plot was set, the Oeste Paulista, the western region of the State of São Paulo. The character is also the daughter of Italian Anacleto, who works on a coffee farm, the same occupation as her great-grandparents when they arrived in Brazil.[9] As part of her research to play Paola, she watched films such as Bicycle Thieves, Marriage Italian Style and The Gold of Naples, and to better understand the context in which her character would have lived, she also watched 1900, Bernardo Bertolucci.[10]

In 2003, she debuted as a cinema actress in the movie Dom and won the Kikito Award for Best Actress at the Festival de Gramado.[11]

In 2008, she was chosen to be the face of Orient Watches' new marketing campaign during the first half of the year. Cândido was the star in two campaigns for the launching of the company's then new collection, which were broadcast over the months of April, May and June. The female models of Orient were chosen to reflect major global trends.[12]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRole Notes
2003DomAna
2005Sal de PrataCátia
2010Aparecida - O MilagreBeatriz
A Fronteira de Sangue
2015My Hindu Friend
2019The TraitorMaria Cristina de Almeida Guimarães
2022Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of DumbledoreVicência Santos[13]
2023The Passion According to G.H.G.H.
2025The Secret AgentElza

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996A Ilha do BiquíniHerself TV Show. VJ
1997Al DenteHerself TV Show. VJ
A IndomadaWoman Telenovela. Opening Sequence
1998Pérola NegraManoela Telenovela. Cameo
Serras AzuisMagali
1999Terra NostraPaola Telenovela. Main Cast
2000Mundo VIPHerself Cameo
Aquarela do BrasilIsa Galvão
2002EsperançaNina Telenovela. Main Cast
2003Os NormaisFabiana Series. Guest. Episode: Casal Que Vive Brigando Não Tem Crise
2004Um Só CoraçãoAna Schmidt Limited Series. Main Cast
Como uma OndaLavínia Telenovela. Main Cast
2007Paraíso TropicalFabiana Sampaio Telenovela. Main Cast
2008CapituCapitu Limited Series. Main Role
2010Dalva e Herivelto: uma Canção de AmorLurdes Torelly Limited Series. Main Cast
S.O.S. EmergênciaMelissa Kutner Series. Guest. Episode: Nasce uma Estrela
Afinal, o Que Querem as Mulheres?Monique
A Princesa e o VagabundoQueen Valentina TV Special.
2011Acampamento de Férias 2 - A Arvore da Vidamother of Lili Limited Series. Cameo[14]
2012O Brado RetumbanteAntonia Limited Series. Main Cast[15]
As BrasileirasSandra Anthology Series. Episode: A Perseguida de Curitiba[16]
Sessão de TerapiaJúlia Rebelo Series. Guest.
Saia JustaHerself Presenter[17]
Lado a LadoJeanett Dórleac Telenovela. Cameo[18]
2013Helen Palmer em Correio FemininoHelen Palmer Narrator[19]
2015Felizes para Sempre?Marília Drummond Limited Series. Main Cast[20]
2017A Força do QuererJoyce Garcia Telenovela. Main Cast
2024RenascerCândida Gouveia[21]Telenovela. Guest Star

Theater

Year Title Role Ref.
1997–98 Anchieta - Our storyJaquaruna Indigenous [22]
2000–01 Passion of ChristMaria[23]
2001–03 The Gospel According to Jesus ChristMary Magdalene[24]
2006–07 Small Marital CrimesLisa [25]
2010–11 Ligações PerigosasMarquesa de Merteuil [26]
2013–14 Rabbit HoleBecca [27]
2016 Troilus and CressidaCressida[28]

References

  1. ^Redação Rede Globo. "Perfil das Estrelas - Maria Fernanda Cândido". Globo.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2002.
  2. ^"Trinta paulistanas eleitas como as mais bonitas revelam seus truques". Veja São Paulo.
  3. ^"Cookie Notice: Usage of cookies". estrelato.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  4. ^"ISTOÉ Gente". terra.com.br. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  5. ^"Terra Nostra". Globo.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  6. ^Mergulho na personagem
  7. ^Troféu Imprensa - 1999Archived 2007-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^"Ela é Maria Fernanda Candido, não precisa dizer mais nada". bichodoparana.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  9. ^"Referência familiar ajuda Maria Fernanda em novela". www1.an.com.br. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  10. ^"Sensualidade apimentada - Maria Fernanda Cândido decide aceitar seu destino e investe na carreira de atriz". www1.an.com.br. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  11. ^Prêmio no Festival de Gramado
  12. ^Maria Fernanda estrela campanha
  13. ^Pinto, Flávio (2021-11-18). "Animais Fantásticos 3: Site confirma Maria Fernanda Cândido em filme". Omelete (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  14. ^"'Acampamento de férias II - A Árvore da Vida' traz aventuras para Renato Aragão e sua filha, Lívian". O Globo. January 23, 2011.
  15. ^"O Brado Retumbante: minissérie traz Domingos Montagner de presidente" (in Portuguese). Redação Rede Globo. November 28, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  16. ^"Rede Globo > novidades - As Brasileiras: Maria Fernanda Cândido é a perseguida de Curitiba". redeglobo.globo.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  17. ^"Maria Fernanda Cândido entra para turma do "Saia Justa"". UOL. August 1, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  18. ^"Maria Fernanda Cândido será dançarina francesa em "Lado a Lado" - Últimas Notícias - UOL TV e Famosos". televisao.uol.com.br. 22 October 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  19. ^"Fantástico - Nova série do Fantástico é inspirada em crônicas de Clarice Lispector". g1.globo.com. 8 October 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  20. ^Natalia Castro (23 October 2014). "Paolla Oliveira e Maria Fernanda Cândido vivem paixão tórrida com direito a cena de sexo em série: 'É um relacionamento bem forte'". O Globo. Revista da TV. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  21. ^Secco, Duh (20 October 2023). "Maria Fernanda Cândido é escalada para Renascer; confira a personagem". Duh Secco.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  22. ^"Anchieta precisa de milagre para virar santo". Estadão. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  23. ^"Marcos Palmeira e Maria Fernanda em Paixão de Cristo". babado.ig.com.br. Babado. 14 Apr 2001. Retrieved 14 Apr 2017.
  24. ^"Teatro: "Evangelho" mira a essência do romance". www1.folha.uol.com.br. Folha de S.Paulo. 2001-11-24. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  25. ^""Pequenos Crimes Conjugais", com Maria Fernanda Cândido". Archived from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  26. ^Veja cenas da peça "Ligações Perigosas", com Maria Fernanda Cândido
  27. ^Rovere, Nanda (2017-01-04). "Gianecchini e Maria Fernanda Cândido protagonizam espetáculo". Aplauso Brasil. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  28. ^Alves Jr., Dirceu (2016-09-21). "Adriane Galisteu e Maria Fernanda Cândido: prontas para "Troilo e Créssida"". Veja São Paulo.
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