Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾiɐ ðɨ mɨˈðɐjɾuʃ]), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film-productions.
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Early life
Maria de Medeiros was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the daughter of musician and composer António Victorino de Almeida. She played her first part on screen at the age of 15. At 18, she moved to France to pursue her acting studies and was a student at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (CNSAD), graduating in 1988.
Medeiros is the first Portuguese woman to be designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Career
Film
Medeiros's resemblance to Anaïs Nin landed her the primary role in Henry & June (1990), in which she played the author. In 1990, she played the role of Maria in Ken McMullen's film about the rise of the Paris Commune, 1871. In 1994, Medeiros appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction playing Fabienne, the girlfriend of Butch Coolidge, played by Bruce Willis.
In 2000, she directed and starred in the film April Captains about the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2003, Medeiros appeared as a hairdresser in the movie My Life Without Me starring Sarah Polley. She has starred in the Canadian movie The Saddest Music in the World (2004) directed by Guy Maddin and co-starring Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney.
Music
In 2007, Medeiros released the album A little more Blue on which she performs songs by Brazilian musicians, including Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Ivan Lins, and Dolores Duran. She sings in Portuguese, French ("Joana Francesa" by Buarque), and English ("A little more Blue" by Veloso).
In 2009, she sang "These Boots are made for Walkin'" on The Legendary Tigerman's album Femina. Her second recording, Penínsulas & Continentes, was released on 23 February 2010. Her third album was Pájaros Eternos in 2012. For her fourth album, she teamed up with Phoebe Killdeer & The Shift to produce The Piano's playing the Devils Tune, released in 2016.
Selected filmography
As director
Sévérine C. (1987)
Fragmento II (1988)
A Morte do Príncipe (1991)
April Captains (2000)
Mathilde au matin (2004)
Je t'aime moi non plus (2004)
Repare Bem (2012)
Discography
A Little More Blue (2007)
Penínsulas & Continentes (2010)
Pássaros Eternos (2013)
The Piano's Playing the Devil's Tune (2016) - with Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift
Collaborations
Drama Box, by Mísia (2005)
Rendez-vous chez Nino Rota, CD+DVD from the Italian Mauro Gioia (2008), with Adriana Calcanhotto, Martirio, Ute Lemper, Catherine Ringer, Susana Rinaldi and Sharleen Spiteri. De Medeiros sings "La pappa col pomodoro"
Femina, by The Legendary Tigerman (2009). De Medeiros sings "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
Señora (ellas cantan a Serrat) (2009). De Medeiros sings "Nanas de la Cebolla"
