She is the daughter of actress Marisa Sanches with the American musician, Douglas Duke.

When she was a year and eight months, her mother married the Brazilian actor Lima Duarte, who became her father.

At the age of five, Duarte got her first role, on the TV Tupi series Ciranda, cirandinha.

Her biography, Débora Duarte: Filha da Televisão (Coleção Aplauso Perfil) by writer Laura Malin, was published in 2009.

[1] She has been married twice, first to actor Wladimir Nikolaief, and, secondly to singer Antônio Marcos (died 6 April 1992).