Carmen Miranda Born in Marco de Canaveses, Kingdom of Portugal
XII Festival Cancao/93 Locutores Marco de Canaveses Bronze Medal
3 1/8” Diameter
1/8” Thick
Weigh 6 Ounces
Carmen Miranda
Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha GCIH, OMC[1] (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaʁmẽj miˈɾɐ̃dɐ]), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell",[2][3] she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films.
Carmen Miranda
Born
Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha
9 February 1909
Marco de Canaveses, Kingdom of Portugal
Died
5 August 1955 (aged 46)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place
São João Batista Cemetery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other names
The Brazilian Bombshell
A Pequena Notável (in Brazil)
Education
Convent of Saint Therese of Lisieux
Occupations
Singerdanceractress
Years active
1926–1955
Spouse
David Alfred Sebastian
(m. 1947)
Relatives
Amaro da Cunha (brother)
Aurora Miranda (sister)
Cecilia Miranda de Carvalho (sister)
Musical career
Genres
Samba
Instrument
Vocals
Labels
RCABrunswick RecordsEMI-OdeonDecca RecordsPolyGram
As a young woman, Miranda designed clothes and hats in a boutique before making her debut as a singer, recording with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Miranda's 1930 recording of "Taí (Pra Você Gostar de Mim)", written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba.
During the 1930s, Miranda performed on Brazilian radio and appeared in five Brazilian chanchadas, films celebrating Brazilian music, dance and the country's carnival culture. Hello, Hello Brazil! and Hello, Hello, Carnival! embodied the spirit of these early Miranda films. The 1939 musical Banana da Terra (directed by Ruy Costa) gave the world her "Baiana" image, inspired by Afro-Brazilians from the north-eastern state of Bahia.
In 1939, Broadway producer Lee Shubert offered Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris after seeing her at Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The following year she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way with Don Ameche and Betty Grable, and her exotic clothing and Brazilian Portuguese accent became her trademark. That year, she was voted the third-most-popular personality in the United States; she and her group, Bando da Lua, were invited to sing and dance for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1943, Miranda starred in Busby Berkeley's The Gang's All Here, which featured musical numbers with the fruit hats that became her trademark. By 1945, she was the highest-paid woman in the United States.
Miranda made 14 Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. Although she was hailed as a talented performer, her popularity waned by the end of World War II. Miranda came to resent the stereotypical "Brazilian Bombshell" image she had cultivated and attempted to free herself of it with limited success. She focused on nightclub appearances and became a fixture on television variety shows. Despite being stereotyped, Miranda's performances popularized Brazilian music and increased public awareness of Latin culture. In 1941, she was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave her hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Miranda is considered the precursor of Brazil's 1960s Tropicalismo cultural movement. A museum was built in Rio de Janeiro in her honor and she was the subject of the documentary Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business (1995).