Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Torres ONM (née da Silva; born 16 October 1929), known by her stage name Fernanda Montenegro ([feɦˈnɐ̃dɐ mõtʃiˈnegɾu]), is a Brazilian actress.

[17] During the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Fernanda read the poem "A Flor e a Náusea" by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, dubbed in English by Judi Dench.

[18] In November 2024, she was recognized by Guinness World Records for achieving the biggest audience in a Philosophy lecture, with over 15,000 people attending an event on 18 August 2024 at the Ibirapuera Park, where Montenegro read La Cérémonie des Adieux by Simone de Beauvoir.

A succession of notable telenovela's roles followed, mainly her performances in the ensemble piece A Muralha (1968), based on the novel by celebrated Brazilian author Dinah Silveira de Queiroz, and Sangue do Meu Sangue (1969), a memorable melodrama engraved in Brazilian pop culture, whose stellar cast featured not only Montenegro, but other theatre's stars like Sérgio Britto, Cláudio Correa e Castro, Francisco Cuoco, Nicette Bruno and Tônia Carrero.

She appeared in telenovelas such as Baila Comigo (1981), Brilhante (1982) and Cambalacho (1986), and struck a massive hit with Guerra dos Sexos (1983), a light-hearted comedy about the constant bickering men and women experience in different stages of romantic relationships.

Throughout this decade, Montenegro won her second and third Best Actress in Television Awards, by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics, for her work in Brilhante and Guerra dos Sexos.

The early 1990s proved once again to be a time of success in television for Montenegro, as she took on roles in two other smash hits, the popular primetime telenovelas Rainha da Sucata (1990) and O Dono do Mundo (1991), both Brazilian pop culture favorites.

Years later, she once again gained artistic distinction, appearing on the critically acclaimed mini-series Incidente em Antares (1994), an adaptation of the book by one of Brazilian Literature's greatest novelists, Érico Veríssimo.

In 1997, Montenegro's string of critical and audience triumphs came to an abrupt halt as her portrayal of the lead role in the telenovela Zazá, a much anticipated return to comedy, couldn't live up to either reviewers' or the viewing public's expectations.

In spite of a successful minor appearance as Mary (mother of Jesus) in the mini-series O Auto da Compadecida (1999), later re-cut into a theatrical film (internationally known as A Dog's Will), Montenegro's television career struggled in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Although Montenegro herself earned positive reviews, "Esperança" was a major failure, generally panned by critics and despised by audiences, setting a record for an all-time low in ratings for a primetime telenovela televised by TV Globo, the broadcasting channel of Brazil's most powerful telecommunications conglomerate.

Montenegro returned to television's good graces in a supporting role as the exploitive stepmother of the lead character in the ensemble piece mini-series Hoje É Dia de Maria (2005), a coming-of-age tale set in a fantasy world, positively reviewed for its inventiveness, its stunning art direction and overall production design, as well as its acting.

[23][24] The following year, Montenegro returned to primetime drama, taking on the female lead role in Belíssima (2006), which also offered a backstage view to Brazilian Fashion Industry, only in a much more earnest and cruel perspective than in her previous work As Filhas da Mãe (2001).

Starring as the shrewd calculating villainess, Bia Falcão, Montenegro was applauded by critics and audiences alike, delivering a solid, sophisticated performance while handling an unapologetic, uncharismatic character, whose story twist was pivotal to the development of the main plot.

[25] Following her streak of well-received roles, Montenegro returned to television in 2008, taking a supporting role, as Dona Iraci, in the critically and publicly acclaimed primetime mini-Series Queridos Amigos, based on the book "Aos Amigos", by Portuguese novelist Maria Adelaide Amaral, an ensemble piece that tells a fictional reconstitution of personal experiences of Amaral and a group of close friends, set during a moment of political turbulence in the Brazilian transition from a military dictatorship to a democratic regime.

[30] In the same year, Montenegro had participated in the cast of the telenovela Babilônia, written by Gilberto Braga, in the role of Teresa, a homosexual lawyer who maintains a relationship with the character Nathalia Timberg, Estela.

Throughout the 1970s, Montenegro was featured in a series of other movies, but none seemed to match the degree of acclaim as her debut, until, in 1978, she starred as Elvira Barata, opposite Paulo Gracindo, in Arnaldo Jabor's Tudo Bem (internationally known as Everything's Alright).

As her next big screen role, in 1981, Montenegro starred as Romana in Eles Não Usam Black-Tie (internationally known as They Don't Wear Black Tie), based on a play by the late Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, who was also her co-star in the movie.

[34][35] In 2025, her own daughter, Fernanda Torres, accomplished that feat being the second Brazilian person to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for the movie I'm Still Here (2024) (also directed by Central Station director, Walter Salles).

[36] Montenegro's follow-up to Central Station marked her return to the work of Nélson Rodrigues, as she took on a supporting role in 1999's "Gêmeas", directed by her own son-in-law, Andrucha Waddington, and starred by her own daughter, Fernanda Torres.

In 2000, the celebrated television mini-series "O Auto da Compadecida", in which Montenegro appeared as the Holy Mary, was re-cut into a film of same title (internationally known as A Dog's Will) and released to movie theaters to significantly appreciative domestic appraisal.

[39] The movie proved to be a smash hit domestically, earning rave reviews and scoring nine nominations in the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize (winning one for Best Director), but failed to produce an expressive splash internationally.

It still fared strongly in the box-office, though, and scored nine nominations in the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, earning three technical awards (Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up).

In late 2006, Montenegro garnered attention for leading a movement of film artists and investors who firmly opposed a Congressional Bill that reduced federal incentives in cultural programmes, reallocating such funds to public investments in the fields of sports and leisure.