Actor

1 series in the catalog

Vilma Melo (born 13 June 1969) is a Brazilian actress, director, and professor. A graduate in performing arts from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Melo became famous for her works in theatre, and later on, in her works in television and film. She has won various prizes, including the Prêmio Shell, becoming the first Black woman to win the award, and a Prêmio Cenym, along with a nomination for the Prêmio APTR de Teatro.

Melo began her career at the end of the 1980s. Her professional debut was in the special Metrópole in 1987. Since then, she has gone on to participate in numerous specials, performing not just as an actress, but also as a director and the person who envisioned the ideas in various projects. These include A Farsa do Fanático Torcedor (1995), The Canterville Ghost (1998), Grande Othelo – Êta Moleque Bamba! (2004), O Romance do Pavão Misterioso (2006), A Farsa da Boa Preguiça (2009), Amargo Fruto - A Vida de Billie Holliday (2016), and Mãe de Santo (2022).

She became the first Black actress to win the Prêmio Shell for Best Actress for her performance in the musical Chica da Silva, where she portrays the titular protagonist. In cinemas, her debut was in the comedy Chick Thing in 2005. In recent years, she became recognized for her roles in films such as Three Summers (2019), Selvagem (2021), Reação em Cadeia (2021), União Instável (2023), and Ritmo de Natal (2023). She received a nomination for the Prêmio Shell for Best Actress in 2023 for her performance on Mãe de Santo (2022).

On television, her debut role was a special guest appearance on Cidade dos Homens (2002) on TV Globo. She had many minor roles in the following years, including Avenida Brasil (2012), Joia Rara (2013), Segunda Chamada (2019) and Um Lugar ao Sol (2022). Meanwhile, she portrayed the protagonist in the series Encantado's (2022) for which she became famed for her role as the Olímpia, the owner of a supermarket, where the series is based. The series led to Melo becoming widely recognized in Brazil, which her earning the Ordem do Mérito Cultural in 2025.

Biography

Melo was born in the Realengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro on 13 June 1969. She comes from a family of modest means that did not have many links to the artistic world. At 17 years old, she decided to enroll in performing arts courses, taking the vestibular and enrolling at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). She graduated with her bachelor's degree and became licensed.

She has given her name to the recently reopened Diretório Acadêmico do CLA at UNIRIO, having been named the "Diretório Acadêmico Vilma Melo". She also participated in discussion panels (Rodas de Conversas) at events and lectured at universities such as UNIRIO and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Career

1987–2009: Graduation and first works

Melo's first contacts with the performing arts were made while at UNIRIO in 1987. Her first special was a performance for the play Metrópole, organized by a crew from her university. Since then, Melo came to become part of performances of various theatrical specials, which consolidated into her presence on stages in Rio de Janeiro in the following decades. In 1995, she performed in A Farsa do Fanático Torcedor, directed by Mônica Alvarenga. The piece won awards at the 5th Festival Carioca de Novos Talentos in 1995, and was performed in other theatres in 1996 and in June 1998. Based on two football-fanatic friends during the 1994 World Cup, she plays the role of Armínia, the sister-in-law of one of the protagonists.

Since 1995, Melo has been a teacher in Rio de Janeiro and, since 2004, she has become dedicated to classes, projects and theatrical performances at the Calouste Gulbenkian Art Cetnre, where she taught a course of excellence that was artistically free, broad, and at no cost. In 1998, she participated in a performance of Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, directed by Gillray Coutinho. That year, she was in the cast for a performance of O Jogo do Amor, directed by Antonio Guedes. In the piece, she played Arlequim. Still in 1998, once again with Guedes as director, she was the protagonist, along with Oscar Saraiva, in a performance of The Canterville Ghost, based on the work by Oscar Wilde. In 1999, she also appeared in the music video for "O Que Sobrou do Céu" by O Rappa, directed by Kátia Lund.

In 2002, she realized her first appearance on TV during a small appearance on an episode on the series Cidade dos Homens on TV Globo. In 2004, she returned to the theatre stage for the musical Grande Othelo – Êta Moleque Bamba!, where she played the role of famed actor Grande Otelo in his childhood. The piece retells the story of his life and career. She starred alongside Flávio Bauraqui and Maurício Tizumba, all interpreting Grande Otelo at different phases in his life. In 2005, Melo made her debut in cinemas with the comedy Chick Thing, by Eliana Fonseca. In the film, she plays Lia.

In 2006, she received the prize for Best Supporting Actress from the 1st Festival de Teatro de Campos dos Goytacazes for her performance in the children's play O Romance do Pavão Misterioso, by Theotonio de Paiva. From 2009 to 2011, she was a part of the cast of the comedy musical A Farsa da Boa Preguiça, with text by Ariano Suassuna and directed by João das Neves. Other members of the cast included Guilherme Piva, Bianca Byington, Jackson Costa e Daniela Fontan. She plays Andreza. In 2009, she returned to television to act in an episode of the police drama A Lei e o Crime, on RecordTV, as Arminda.

2010–2019: Start in theatre and more space in television

In 2011, Melo returned to TV Globo, participating in an episode of the third season of the seriesForça-Tarefa, where she made a small appearance as a receptionist at a hospital. In 2012, she made her first appearance in a novela in Avenida Brasil, by João Emanuel Carneiro, at TV Globo. She played the role of Conceição, alongside Débora Bloch. In 2013, she became part of the main cast of Joia Rara, which won an International Emmy for Best Telenovela. She played Fátima. That same year, she returned to the theatre stage with the musical Quando A Gente Ama, by João Batista. She played alongside Cris Vianna, Patrícia Costa, Édio Nunes, Milton Filho, Wladimir Pinheiro, David Junior, and Jéssica Moraes.

In 2014, she became the director of Lapinha, starring Isabel Fillardis and Zezeh Barbosa, alongside Edio Nunes. The piece portrays the life of artist Joaquina Maria Conceição da Lapa, "Lapinha" (played by Fillardis), a singer whose talent is less well known in the history of Brazilian culture. That same year, she directed Acabou o Pó, with the script written by Daniel Porto.

In 2016, she acted in her second work in theatres playing a waitress in the drama Campo Grande, by Sandra Kogut. In 2016, she worked with Piéterson Duderstadt to release the children's special Marrom, Nem Preto Nem Branco?, written by Renata Mizrahi and directed by Marcelo Alonso Neves. Melo took part in the preparation, production, and cast of the special. She also won the Prêmio Cenym de Teatro for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Amargo Fruto - A Vida de Billie Holliday. Starring Lílian Valeska in the titular role, Melo completed the cast with Milton Filho, singing and giving life to various personalities that were influences in the life of singer Billie Holiday.

In 2017, she interpreted Chica da Silva in the theatre piece Chica da Silva - O Musical, which became one of the biggest successes of her career. The piece, written by Mizrahi, is not limited to be a biography of Silva; Mizrahi, along with bringing biographical moments, sought to contextualize her in the 21st century and highlight that, despite her story initially being set more than 200 years ago, racism still affects the Black community. Melo's performance as the protagonist was widely acclaimed by critics and she became the first…