She received a basic education at the Colégio Brasileiro boarding school at Rua das Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro.

The steamer would eventually sink but, initially, the captain refused to seek assistance from the British ship and it was only after being begged to do so by Estrela, who had been helping injured passengers and crew, that he sent a distress signal.

Passengers and crew and their possessions were transferred to the Bellerophon and, subsequently, to another Portuguese vessel, which delivered them safely to Rio de Janeiro.

At the time, Brazilian colleges did not allow women to enrol and so she asked her father to send her abroad so she could obtain medical qualifications and then return to practice in Brazil.

She requested to speak in her defence before a Commission of that institution and on 12 October 1876, she argued that she had come from a country that did not allow her access to study medicine but that she had sufficient knowledge to be admitted on an exceptional basis.

She also suffered from some medical problems, most notably because of an accident with a scalpel while carrying out an autopsy, which led to long and painful treatment.

In May 1879, the periodical Echo das Damas, which was devoted to the critical, recreational, scientific and literary interests of women, and was published in Rio de Janeiro, began issuing, in serial format, a biography of Estrela, in six editions.

While waiting for her degree in 1881, she joined a college friend, Josefa Agueda Felisbella Mercedes de Oliveira, to open an illustrated journal, A Mulher, which they said was "consecrated to the interests and rights of Brazilian women".

With the emperor's authorization, she then remained in New York for another year to practice medicine, mainly attending births and carrying out obstetric consultations.

Estrela had initially worked in her own office but to overcome her husband's jealousy she moved to his pharmacy, where she set up a small receiving room, serving mainly women and children.

On 8 March 1999, the Board of Directors of the Rio de Janeiro City Council awarded her the Pedro Ernesto "Post Mortem" Medal of Merit.