In her 86-year-long career, she worked in the theater, revues, film, radio and television, becoming famous by her humorous use of vulgar language.

In 1991, at the age of 84, she caused controversy by exposing her breasts while parading with a Samba school in Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval.

The book was titled Dercy de Cabo a Rabo (a popular expression in Portuguese that means "from the beginning to the end", and in this particular case, "The complete Dercy").

She was buried in her birth town Santa Maria Madalena in Rio de Janeiro.

Her mausoleum, designed by herself in 1991, has the shape of a glass pyramid and is unique in that she was buried standing up.