Marina Souza Ruy Barbosa (Portuguese: [maˈɾinɐ ˈʁuj baʁˈbɔzɐ]; born 30 June 1995) is a Brazilian actress. She started off her career as a child actress; her first major role was in the telenovela Começar de Novo. In 2006, she portrayed a prominent character in Silvio de Abreu's Belíssima. She later appeared in Sete Pecados (2007), Escrito nas Estrelas (2010), Morde & Assopra (2011), and Amor à Vida, interpreting Nicole, a young orphan and millionaire who gets cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma type 4.
In her adult career, she gained great prominence in the telenovela Império, playing the nymphet Maria Isis, thus winning the Contigo Television Awards for Best Supporting Actress. In 2015, she starred in Totalmente Demais — a show that earned an International Emmy nomination for best telenovela.
Barbosa has become a style reference, being a constant presence in the lists of the most elegant women in Brazil. Her red hair is considered her trademark.
She is in big demand to make advertising campaigns, especially in the fashion and beauty segments. She was the celebrity with the second most appearances in commercials aired on broadcast television in Brazil between May and July 2015, and was named one of the Top 25 Celebrities of Brazil in 2015, according to Forbes magazine, the Brazilian edition. In 2015 she was the ninth Brazilian celebrity to appear the most in television ads, according to the ranking of the Competition Control, which monitors the advertising market.
She married Alexandre Sarnes Negrão on 7 October 2017, and the couple announced they had split on 12 January 2021.
Early life
Barbosa was born in Gávea, a southern zone neighborhood in the Rio de Janeiro on 30 June 1995. An only child, she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of writer, jurist and politician Ruy Barbosa from Bahia. Despite the similarity of their names, she is not related to the screenwriter Benedito Ruy Barbosa.
Career beginnings
Barbosa made her first significant work in the film Xuxa e o Tesouro da Cidade Perdida, where she played the character Mylla, a young princess from a tribe of Vikings, who lived in a lost city inside a forest. Before shooting the movie, she took several Swedish language classes, since all her lines in the film were in that language.
Later, Barbosa auditioned for Começar de Novo, where she played the character Ana, the guardian angel of Miguel (Marcos Paulo). This mysterious character hid important plot secrets, and had unknown origin. She had paranormal powers, with a strong spirituality, and received messages from heaven that guided on her mission on Earth. As the character did not speak, Barbosa had the added challenge of having to communicate mainly through her eyes and facial expressions. It was her first telenovela with screenwriter Elizabeth Jhin.
On 5 March 2005, Barbosa debuted in children's theater as the protagonist of the play Chapeuzinho Vermelho - O Musical in the Teatro dos Grandes Atores, in Barra da Tijuca, and in Teatro do Leblon in Leblon.
Barbosa's work in Começar de Novo earned her an invitation to attend the tests for the character "Sabina" in Belíssima. After going through crowded auditions, she was chosen by the screenwriter Silvio de Abreu and the director Denise Saraceni to play the role. Sabina was an important character in the telenovela plot, the daughter of "Vitória" (Claudia Abreu) and "Pedro" (Henri Castelli), and granddaughter of the villain "Bia Falcão" (Fernanda Montenegro), niece of "Júlia" (Gloria Pires), and goddaughter of "Nikos" (Tony Ramos). Sabina had a great influence on the grandmother, the villain Bia Falcao, who kidnapped her in the story. The character lived in Greece with her parents. To fully play the role, Barbosa took lessons on dance, Greek language and culture, as well as spending a month in Greece, filming the soap opera on the paradise island of Santorini. Barbosa's success in the role made her known in Brazil, and led her to being interviewed on Domingão do Faustão. She was later hired as an exclusive artist by Rede Globo.
The interpretation of Barbosa in Belíssima caught the attention of screenwriter Walcyr Carrasco, who invited her to portray the character "Isabel" in Sete Pecados, the daughter of "Dante" (Reynaldo Gianecchini) and "Clarisse" (Giovanna Antonelli).
In late 2007, Barbosa participated in the first edition of the competition Dança das Crianças, shown on Domingão do Faustão. However, she was the first contestant to be eliminated.
2008–2010: Theater and teenage roles
In 2008, Barbosa debuted in adult drama; she was cast by the duo Charles Möeller and Cláudio Botelho to play Clara girl in 7 - O Musical. Acting in the musical was quite a big challenge for her, as she had to represent and also had to sing and dance. Her portrayal of Clara was close to what Möeller imagined. The director Botelho said: "Marina is a demon. She has so much inner life at such a young age and, even with little experience, she shines on the scene as a veteran! That's the kind of 'child actress' we only see in the United States, those who steal movies and plays...Marina makes the difference".
7 - O Musical was the last work of Ida Gomes, Marina's grandmother in the musical, as she died soon after the musical.
In 2009, Barbosa co-hosted a TV Globinho program. She was later invited by director Denise Saraceni to join the show Tudo Novo de Novo, interpreting teenage Bia. She also participated in the sketch "Super Chefinho" shown by the morning show Mais Você.
In March 2010, Barbosa was interviewed by presenter Angelica for the Estrelas show. She made a cultural visit to the Museu Casa Ruy Barbosa, in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, the home where her great-great-grandfather Ruy Barbosa lived. In addition to describing the location, Barbosa took the opportunity to show some of her musical skill, playing Beethoven on the piano of her great-grandmother Maria Augusta.
She was invited by author Elizabeth Jhin, who had already made the telenovela Começar de Novo, to play the rebellious teenager "Vanessa" in Escrito nas Estrelas. Vanessa wore dreadlocks in her hair, and was a student of ballet. Barbosa, who had never done ballet, took private lessons to get ready for the role. She played all her ballet scenes without needing a stunt double. She performed her first kissing scene with actor Bruno Pereira, with whom she had worked on Começar de Novo. Barbosa had the idea of creating the zipper earrings used by the character, an accessory that would eventually become a fad among teenagers throughout Brazil. Her Escrito nas Estrelas colleague Nica Bonfim turned the character "Vanessa" into a doll. Barbosa's performance on the telenovela was praised by critics.
In October 2010, Quem magazine prepared a special edition to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Ten young actresses were invited for the cover, produced and shot by Fernando Torquatto, using the self-explanatory title: "As Estrelas da Próxima Década". Barbosa, only 15 years old at the time, was the youngest actress of the ten.
2011–2013: Career growth
Barbosa was invited by the author Walcyr Carrasco in 2011 to join the cast of the Morde & Assopra as "Alice", a young villain and one of the protagonists of the plot. Alice is a rich 18-year-old girl, vain and prejudiced, wearing only expensive clothes, the daughter of mayor Isaiah (Ary Fontoura) and Minerva (Elizabeth Savalla), who falls for the crook Guilherme (Klebber Toledo). Alice launched the slogans "you are a mongrel" and "I have pedigree" that fell in public taste. Barbosa's performance in Morde & Assopra was highlighted by critics, receiving critical praise from Rio newspaper Extra's journalist Carla Bittencourt, UOL portal's television columnist Flávio Ricco, Terra portal's journalist Mariana Trigo, and Epoca magazine's journalist Bruno Segadilha, among others.
Barbosa is also known for her style of dress, always wearing updated productions following the trends, she is considered an it girl, and has…