Despite being discouraged by her father, she wanted to be an actress from an early age, being particularly inspired by the actors from the Teatro do Ginásio company from Lisbon, who frequently visited Torres Novas during their tours outside the capital.

Her father forced her to take a primary school teacher course but when she was old enough to leave home, she moved to Tomar to join an amateur theatre group and then to Lisbon, where after many auditions, she finally managed to make her debut at the age of 21, at the Teatro Moderno in the operetta Os Grotescos (The Grotesques).

She was a popular radio performer, becoming well-known for her role as the "mother-in-law" in the 1952 serial Lélé e Zequinha, playing opposite her daughter Irene Velez and Vasco Santana.

[1][3] Velez received the Lucinda Simões Award for Best Actress in 1970, for her role as Titi in the play A Relíquia (The Relic), based on the novel of the same name by Eça de Queiroz, which ran for several months at the Teatro Maria Matos in Lisbon, and which was considered to be a brilliant culmination of her career.

On 2 September 1970, she was a guest on the RTP program Um Dia Com... (A Day with...), where she discussed the most important aspects of her career and personal life.