Little is known about the early life of Ana Cardoso, other than that she was born in the town of Lamego in the Viseu District of Portugal in around 1830.

She then moved to the Teatro do Ginásio, where she spent more than twenty years, performing dramas, comedies and farces.

She went on to perform this play at the Crystal Palace theatre in Porto and at Teatro São Pedro in Rio de Janeiro.

While mainly working at the Ginásio she also performed at the Teatro da Rua dos Condes in Lisbon at the end of 1854 and in early 1855.

[1][2][3][4] Cardoso stayed four years working in Brazil, and then returned to Portugal to join the D. Maria II National Theatre.