# Virginia Cavendish

Virginia Cavendish Moura (born 25 November 1970) is a Brazilian actress, television presenter and film producer, most well known for her work in films directed by her ex-husband Guel Arraes, such as A Dog's Will and Lisbela e o Prisioneiro. With television appearances, she is most well known for her performance in Avassaladoras as Maria Teresa, and for presenting the program TNT + Filme.
She started her career while in her hometown of Recife, performing in theatre with names such as João Falcão and Hamilton Vaz Pereira. Afterwards, she began a prolific career in film, beginning in the late 1980s, with nationally successful roles in the decades after. Her performances on TV Globo productions also garnered further success, with varied roles in productions such as Andando nas Nuvens, O Cravo e a Rosa, and Da Cor do Pecado.
In 2006, Cavendish moved to Rede Record to become the protagonist of Avassaladoras, alongside Vanessa Lóes, Débora Lamm and Giselle Itié. With the end of the program after a brief run, she returned to TV Globo and acted in more telenovelas and series such as Caminho das Índias and Ó Paí Ó. Still within this new phase, she debuted as a television presenter on the program TNT + Filme, on the subscription channel TNT, alongside Rubens Ewald Filho, who works as a commentator.

## Biography

Cavendish was born in Recife on 25 November 1970, the daughter of Romero Marinho de Moura and Sueli Pessoa Cavendish. She began her career in local theatres, performing pieces such as A Ver Estrelas, by João Falcão, and Leve, o Próximo Nome da Terra, by Hamilton Vaz Pereira and Walter Lima Jr., and Antígona, by Moacyr Góes. She started performing when she was 17 years old. While in secondary school, she attended theatre classes with businessman Anderson Pacheco, responsible for Trem do Forró.

### Beginning of career (1988-1996)

At the end of the 1980s, Cavendish moved on to film, where she made appearances in various videos and short films before entering the national film circuit. During this phase, she participated in Batom, by Ana Paula Portela and Que M... É Essa?, by Bruno Garcia and Marco Hanois, along with having made an appearance in Kuarup by Ruy Guerra in 1989.
In the 1990s, she continued to participate in short films such as Soneto do Desmantelo Blue, in 1993, and only debuted in feature films alongside Rosemberg Cariry in the 1996 film Corisco & Dadá.

### National prominence (1998-2006)

By 1998, she began to participate in productions by Rede Globo. Her first role with the company was Rosália in the series Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos. That same year, she also performed as Fernanda Peixoto in the mini-series Labirinto, starring Malu Mader and Fábio Assunção.
In 1999, Cavendish she played a role in Andando nas Nuvens, a production that's seven hours long and starting Marco Nanini. That year, she also began to play one of her most notable roles: Rosinha, in the mini series A Dogs Will, by her former husband Guel Arraes. The mini series, which starred Selton Mello and Matheus Nachtergaele, was a hit on television and, afterwards, was transformed into a film of the same name and launched nationwide the year after.
Later on, in 2000, she became part of the cast for O Cravo e a Rosa, by Walcyr Carrasco, playing Bárbara Maciel. As Filhas da Mãe, by Sílvio de Abreu, was her next role on television. In the meanwhile, Cavendish also returned to theatre, where she starred alongside Bruno Garcia, in the piece Lisbela e o Prisioneiro, once again in partnership with Arraes.
The play would also be made to film and become a major success in 2003, starring Selton Mello and Débora Falabella, and directed by Arraes. Cavendish played Inaura in the movie, with her also making her debut as a producer of films.
In 2004, Cavendish returned to TV with a guest appearance in the telenovela Da Cor do Pecado and afterwards became part of the regular cast of Mandrake, starring Marcos Palmeira and broadcast on HBO. In the series, Cavendish plays Verônica. In 2005, the actress also worked on Começar de Novo and Carga Pesada. She became a member of the jury for that years Cine Pernambuco - Festival do Audiovisual.
In 2005, her mother Sueli made, at her request, a translation of Collected Stories by Donald Margulies; for this occasion, the Brazilian version received the title "Comendo Entre as Refeições" and where Cavendish played the protagonist Lisa Morrison, and Aracy Balabanian as Ruth Steiner; the same piece had already been adapted prior as Histórias Roubadas. With Walter Lima Júnior as director, it debuted in December of that year at the Teatro das Artes in Rio de Janeiro.

### Current projects (2006-present)

In 2006, Cavendish switched broadcasters, leaving TV Globo and moving to Record to star in the series Avassaladoras, based on the film of the same name, a 2001 production starring Giovanna Antonelli. The cast included Vanessa Lóes, Débora Lamm and Giselle Itié, and was directed by Mara Mourão, as was the case with the film.
Initially, the actress had been invited to play the role of Beth (which would eventually be played by Lamm), but asked Mourão if she could act as one of the other protagonists. She explained in an interview with Terra: "I had been invited initially to do Beth, precisely the femme fatale. But I asked to do a different role". She then went on to play the workaholic Maria Teresa.
The next year, she would return to play Verônica when HBO ordered the production of five new episodes of Mandrake, seeking to complete the first season broadcast in 2004
After the cancelling of Avassaladoras after just one season with Record, and the end of her marriage of 10 years to Arraes, Cavendish returned to TV Globo in 2008, participating in an episode of Casos e Acasos, alongside Herson Capri, and made a special guest appearance on Ó Paí Ó as the producer Hipólita. On the character, Cavendish declared that she "had missed to work with an accent" and "that being an awesome Bahian woman would be amazing". In 2009, the actress also came to interpret Selma Magalhães in the telenovela Caminho das Índias by Glória Perez. She played the sister-in-law of Yvone, who is played by Letícia Sabatella, and only played in some of the final episodes.
Along with having returned to TV Globo, the actress also debuted as a TV presenter on the subscription TV channel TNT, by way of their interactive program TNT + Filme. Rubens Ewald Filho is the commentator on the program and reveals the answers to the questions posed by Cavendish during the program.

## Personal life

In 1993, she gave birth to her daughter, actress and filmmaker Luisa Arraes, with her then-husband and director Guel Arraes. In 2001, they separated after having been married for 10 years. The separation did not prevent her from inviting Arraes to direct Lisbela e o Prisioneiro, a film she had produced and had acted in. In 2003, she began to date art director Toni Vanzolini, with whom she was in a relationship with for 5 years.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos | Rosália | |
| 1998 | Labirinto | Fernanda Peixoto | |
| 1999 | O Auto da Compadecida | Maria Rosa Noronha de Brito Morais (Rosinha) | |
| 1999 | Andando nas Nuvens | Patrícia | |
| 2000 | O Cravo e a Rosa | Bárbara Maciel | |
| 2001 | As Filhas da Mãe | Maria Leopoldina | |
| 2004 | Da Cor do Pecado | Livinha | |
| 2004 | A Grande Família | Maria Padilha | Episode: "A Morte do Bom Velhinho" |
| 2004 | Começar de Novo | Virgínia | |
| 2005 | Carga Pesada | Marta | Episode: "O Lobisomem" |
| 2005 | Mandrake | Verônica | |
| 2006 | Avassaladoras | Maria Teresa | |
| 2007-10 | TNT + Filme | Presenter | |
| 2007 | Super Sincero | Moça no cinema | Episode: "A Namorada" |
| 2008 | Ó Paí Ó | Hipólita | Episode: "Brega" |
| 2008 | Casos e Acasos | Luciana | Episode: "O Diagnóstico, o Fetiche e a Bebida" |
| 2009 | Caminho das Índias | Selma Magalhães | |
| 2010 | Malhação ID | Linda Glitter | |
| 2010 | A Grande Família | Clarisse | Episode: "Desejo & Repartição" |
| 2011 | Malhação Conectados | Helena | |
| 2011 | Homens de Bem | Cristina | Year end special |
| 2014 | As Canalhas | Sandra | Episode: "Celina, A Mãe Dedicada" |
| 2016 | Nada Será Como Antes | Carmem Veiga | |
| 2016 | A Cara do Pai | Carmem Cavalcante | Episode: "Partiu Reveillon" |
| 2017-19 | A Vida Secreta dos Casais | Miranda | |
| 2021 | Gênesis | Najla | Arc: Jornada de Abraão |
| 2021 | Desjuntados | Joana | Episodes: "Desmoronar" "Deslumbrar" "Despertar" |
| 2024 | Da Ponte Pra Lá | Leila Bianchi | 6 episodes |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | Batom | | |
| 1989 | Que M... É Essa? | Tânia's Sister | |
| 1989 | Kuarup | | |
| 1993 | Soneto do Desmantelo Blue | Young person at Carnaval | Short film |
| 1996 | Corisco &amp; Dadá | Lídia de Zé Baiano | |
| 2000 | A Dog's Will | Rosinha | |
| 2003 | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Inaura | |
| 2015 | Califórnia | Cris | |
| 2015 | Até que a Casa Caia | Ciça | |
| 2016 | Através da Sombra | Laura | |
| 2022 | Diário de Viagem | Regina | |
| 2024 | A Dog's Will 2 | Rosinha | |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1989 | Fêmeas | Júlia |
| 1990 | A Ver Estrelas | Witch |
| 1994 | Édipo Rei | Jocasta |
| 1994-95 | Antígona | Coro |
| 1995-97 | O Burguês Ridículo | Lucille |
| 2000-01 | Lisbela & o Prisioneiro | Lisbela |
| 2004 | A Leve - O Próximo Nome da Terra | Frederica |
| 2006 | Comendo Entre as Refeições | Lisa |
| 2006-08 | Hedda Gable | Hedda Gable |
| 2014-16 | Não Vamos Pagar! | Antônia |
| 2016 | O Inferno em Mim | Lívia |
| 2017 | Luís Antonio-Gabriela | Maria Cristina |
| 2017-18 | O Rio | Mulher |
| 2022 | Terremotos | Sarah |
| 2022-23 | Mary Stuart | Mary Stuart |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nomination | Result |
| 2001 | Prêmio Qualidade Brasil - RJ | Beat Comedy Theatre Actress | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Nominated |
| 2003 | Prêmio Arte Qualidade Brasil - SP | Best Supporting Actress - Film | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Won |
| 2003 | Prêmio Arte Qualidade Brasil - RJ | Best Supporting Actress - Film | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Won |
| 2004 | Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro | Best Supporting Actress | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Nominated |
| 2004 | Prêmio Guarani de Cinema Brasileiro | Best Supporting Actress | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Nominated |
| 2005 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Best Comedy Address | Lisbela e o Prisioneiro | Nominated |
| 2015 | Festival de Cinema Fantástico de Porto Alegre | Best Actress | Através da Sombra | Won |
| 2015 | Fest Aruanda do Audiovisual Brasileiro | Best Actress | Através da Sombra | Won |