Pepa Martins de Abreu Melo Vieira was born in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on 6 July 1890.

She became known in the artistic world as "Pepita de Abreu", making her debut at the Teatro da Rua dos Condes in Lisbon in 1905 and then performing at the Teatro Príncipe Real in Porto in 1907.

She performed in several theatres in Lisbon and Porto and toured other locations, including the Azores Archipelago and Madeira.

In Rio de Janeiro she went into journalism and became a writer for the Jornal do Commercio and also wrote for journals such as Boa Noite, Boa Tarde and Manto de Arlequim.

Together with César Viana, she founded in 1956 the Círculo de Divulgação Teatral (Theatrical Dissemination Circle), which aimed to present original Portuguese plays, which she directed and also acted in.