# Aracy Balabanian

Aracy Balabanian (22 February 1940 – 7 August 2023) was a Brazilian actress.

## Biography

Aracy Balabanian was born in Campo Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Her parents were Armenians Raphael and Esther Balabanyans. They emigrated from Ottoman Empire to Brazil, fleeing from the genocide promoted in that country by the Ottoman Turks.
At the age of fifteen, she moved to São Paulo with her parents and helped raise her seven younger brothers. She passed the entrance exam for Social Sciences and for the Escola de Arte Dramática, coming to abandon the studies of Sociology, another entrance exam that she had taken and had been accepted, to devote herself to the theater. She said that she lived in a time when it was considered ugly for a woman to do theater since women were formerly educated to be housewives and obey their husbands.
Balabanian died in Rio de Janeiro on 7 August 2023, at the age of 83.

## Filmography
### Television series

* Vila Sésamo (1972–1974).... Gabriela
* Aplauso (1979).... Angélica
* Caso Especial (1993–1994)
* Você Decide (1994)
* Engraçadinha... Seus Amores e Seus Pecados (1995).... Dona Geninha
* Sai de Baixo (1996—2013).... Cassandra Mathias Salão
* Brava Gente (2001)
* Linha Direta Justiça (2003)
* Casos e Acasos (2008).... Amélia
* Queridos Amigos (2008).... Teresa Fernandes Moretti
* Toma Lá, Dá Cá (2008).... Shafika Sarakutian
* Louco por Elas (2012).... Cândida
* Juntos a magia acontece (2019)

### Telenovelas

* Marcados Pelo Amor (1964)
* O Amor Tem Cara de Mulher (1966)
* Um Rosto Perdido (1966)
* Angústia de Amar (1967)
* Meu Filho, Minha Vida (1967)
* Sublime Amor (1967)
* Antônio Maria (1968)
* Nino, o Italianinho (1969)
* A Fábrica (1971).... Isabel
* O Primeiro Amor (1972)
* Corrida do Ouro (1974)
* Bravo! (1975)
* O Casarão (1976)
* Locomotivas (1977).... Miena Cabral
* Pecado Rasgado (1978)
* Coração Alado (1980).... Maria Faz-Favor
* Brilhante (1981)
* Elas Por Elas (1982)
* Guerra dos Sexos (1983)
* Transas e Caretas (1984)
* Ti Ti Ti (1985)
* Mania de Querer (1986)
* Helena (1987)
* Que Rei Sou Eu? (1989).... Maria Fromet/Lenore Gaillard
* Rainha da Sucata (1990).... Dona Armênia (Arakel Tchobanian Giovani)
* Felicidade (1991)
* Deus Nos Acuda (1992).... Dona Armênia (Arakel Tchobanian Giovani)
* Pátria Minha (1994)
* A Próxima Vítima (1995).... Filomena Ferreto
* Sabor da Paixão (2002)
* Da Cor do Pecado (2004)
* A Lua Me Disse (2005)
* Eterna Magia (2007)
* Passione (2010).... Gemma Mattoli
* Cheias de Charme (2012)
* Saramandaia (2013).... Dona Pupu (Eponina Camargo)
* Geração Brasil (2014)
* Ligações Perigosas (2016)
* Sol Nascente (2016)
* Pega Pega (2017)
* Malhação: Vidas Brasileiras (2018)

### Cinema

* A Primeira Viagem .... Irene (1975)
* Caramujo-Flor .... Woman in black (1998)
* Policarpo Quaresma, Herói do Brasil .... Maricota (1998)

## Theatre

* 1963 – Os Ossos do Barão
* 1966 – Oh, Que Delícia de Guerra
* 1968 – Feira Paulista de Opinião
* 1969 – Hair
* 1977 – Brecht, segundo Brecht
* 1980 – À Direita do Presidente
* 1985 – Boa Noite, Mãe
* 1985 – Time and the Conways
* 1988 – Folias no Box
* 1991 – Fulaninha e Dona Coisa
* 1995 – Noite Feliz
* 1998 – Clarice, Coração Selvagem
* 2006 – Comendo Entre as Refeições

## Awards and nominations
### APCA Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| 1995 | Best Performance by an Actress in Television | A Próxima Vítima | Won |

### Best of the Year – Globe Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| 1995 | Best Actress in a Telenovela | A Próxima Vítima | Won |
| 2018 | Mário Lago Trophy | — | Won |

### Contigo! Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| 2003 | Best Comedy Actress – Television | Sabor da Paixão | Nominated |

### Press Trophy

| Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| 1967 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Telenovela | O Amor Tem Cara de Mulher | Nominated |
| 1968 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Telenovela | Meu Filho Minha Vida | Nominated |
| 1969 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Telenovela | Antônio Maria | Nominated |
| 1990 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Telenovela | Rainha da Sucata | Nominated |
| 1996 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Telenovela | A Próxima Vítima | Won |

### Quem Awards

| Year | Category | Nominee / work | Result |
| 2010 | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Passione | Nominated |