Fernanda Torres

Fernanda Pinheiro Monteiro Torres (Brazilian Portuguese: [feʁˈnɐ̃dɐ ˈtoʁis]; born 15 September 1965) is a Brazilian actress and writer, known for both her comedic and dramatic roles. Born in Rio de Janeiro to actors Fernando Torres and Fernanda Montenegro, she has received numerous awards, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Love Me Forever or Never (1986).
For her critically acclaimed performance as Eunice Paiva in the drama film I'm Still Here (2024), Torres became the first Brazilian, South American and Portuguese-speaking actor to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the second Brazilian actress, after her mother, to be nominated in this category.
As a writer, her debut novel, The End, sold over 200,000 copies in Brazil, was translated into 7 other languages and was adapted into a miniseries.
Debuting as an actress at thirteen, Torres established a career that spans more than four decades in theater, television, literature and cinema.
Her film debut was at the age of 17, in 1983, with the film Innocência, based on the work of Viscount of Taunay and directed by Walter Lima Jr. Her next movie A Marvada Carne (1985), by André Klotzel, won her the award for Best Actress at the Gramado Festival. For Love Me Forever or Never (1986) by Arnaldo Jabor, Torres' won the Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and at the Cuba Film Festival.
Among her 24 films credits, the most notable are: Excuse Me, I'm Going to Fight (1986), Best Actress at the Nantes Film Festival and a special nomination at the Locarno Festival; One Man's War (1991) by Sergio Toledo, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Norma Aleandro; Foreign Land (1996) by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas; Four Days in September (1997) by Bruno Barreto, nominated as Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards; Gêmeas (1999); Redentor (2004), a film directed by her brother, Cláudio Torres; and The House of Sand (2005), directed by her husband Andrucha Waddington.
In 2024, she played Eunice Paiva in the biographical film I'm Still Here, based on the book of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva and working again with director Walter Salles. For her performance, Torres became the second Brazilian to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, the first one being her mother Fernanda Montenegro 26 years before her, and also the first Brazilian to win the award. They also became the first mother-daughter duo to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress category since Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.
At thirteen, Torres attended Teatro O Tablado. Her first performance on stage was in 1978, in the play Um Tango Argentino, by Maria Clara Machado. Torres acted in more than a dozen plays, having received praise for works such as Orlando (1989), by Bia Lessa; Da Gaivota (1998), by Daniela Thomas; Two Women and a Corpse (2000), by Aderbal Freire Filho. She was the first actress of the Companhia de Ópera Seca, founded by Gerald Thomas, having starred in three plays, including The Flash and Crash Days (1991) - sharing the stage with her mother - which was presented on tour in the United States and European. The monologue A Casa dos Budas Ditosos, based on the novel of the same name by João Ubaldo Ribeiro, debuted in 2003 reaching more than one million spectators.
On television, she acted in numerous popular comedy series and soap operas in Brazil. From 2001 to 2003, Torres starred with Luiz Fernando Guimarães in the series Os Normais, which showed with humor and innovative language the everyday situations experienced by the couple Rui and Vani. Os Normais became a cult favorite and led many fans to not leave the house on Friday nights before the program ended. Not only the characters' scenes and dialogues, but also the panties and bras worn by Torres won over the public. The success of the series also led to two feature films, Os Normais - O Filme (2003), a prequel telling how Rui and Vani met, and Os Normais 2: A Noite Mais Maluca de Todas (2009), a sequel to the show where Rui and Vani try to reignite their relationship.
From 2011 to 2015, Torres starred, alongside Andréa Beltrão, in the comedy series Tapas & Beijos, for which she received sereval awards nominations and wins, such as the Best of the Year Award for Best Actress.
In 2016, she wrote the script for the feature film O Juízo, with her mother in the cast. In 2018, Torres was confirmed in the second season of the series Sob Pressão, as Renata, the new hospital administrator.
As a presenter, she developed the project Minha Estupidez and Bicho Homem for television, and the podcast The Playlist of My Life, as an interviewer on Deezer.
In 2007, she began writing for newspapers and magazines as a columnist, publishing a weekly column in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo since 2010.
In 2014, Torres released her first novel, The End (Fim), which sold more than 200,000 copies in Brazil and was translated into seven languages. In 2023, Torres created, wrote and adapted the novel into a 10-episode miniseries for the Brazilian streaming service Globoplay.
In 2017, Torres' published her second novel, Glory and Its Litany of Horrors (A Glória e Seu Cortejo de Horrores).
Torres is of Portuguese and Italian descent. She is married to movie producer and director Andrucha Waddington. The couple has two sons, Joaquim (b. 2000) and Antônio (b. 2008). She is also stepmother of João (b. 1993) and Pedro (b. 1995), from Andrucha's first marriage.