The Doodle, an illustration at the top of Google’s search engine, paid homage to Cláudia Celeste, the first transvestite actress to appear in a Brazilian soap opera. The tribute commemorates the 34th anniversary of Celeste’s debut in the soap opera “Olho por Olho”, by Rede Manchete, which aired in 1988.
Cláudia Celeste was born on July 14, 1952 in Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro. She in her youth she served in the army and, after being discharged, she began to work as a hairdresser. In a short time she decides to make the gender change and, subsequently, to start her artistic career.
Between the 1950s and 1960s she performed as a dancer in the Beco das Garrafas night club group.
In 1973 Celeste starred in the show “O Mundo é das Bonecas”, at the Teatro Rival, in Cinelândia, her first major show. It was also a groundbreaking performance, as it was the first transvestite show to obtain a government license after the military dictatorship banned such shows.
In 1975 Claudia made her film debut, starring in the comedy “Motel”, directed by Alcino Diniz, and the following year she participated and won the Miss Brasil Pop beauty contest, which showed her on television.
Director Daniel Filho saw the show “Transetê no Fuetê” and decided to incorporate a number into the soap opera “Espelho Mágico” (1977), on TV Globo, not knowing that Cláudia was a transvestite.
He recorded scenes alongside Sonia Braga. But her participation in the soap opera was cut short after the press turned her participation into a scandal. The Gazeta de Notícias of 8 August 1977 bore the title: “Cláudia (or rather, Cláudio), the transvestite who deceived everyone”.
The episodes in which she would appear were never aired.
“Before, nobody knew I was a transvestite, not even Daniel Filho. Nobody ever asked me! And, since he was very ti-ti-ti, they removed the chapters I had already done,” Cláudia said in an interview with Geni revised in 2013.
In 1978, he won the Miss Brasil Gay award (which is now called Miss Brasil Trans). This award put her back in the spotlight and opened up new opportunities, such as the films “Beijo na Boca” (1982), by Paulo Sérgio de Almeida, and “Punk’s, Os Filhos da Noite” (1982), by Levi Salgado.
At the same time, Cláudia Celeste starred in the shows “Gay Fantasy”, “Bonecas com Tudo em Cima” and “Febre”. Her career as a stage actress took her out of the country and she has performed in concert halls across Europe.
With the end of the military dictatorship, Cláudia Celeste was finally able to act in a soap opera. On August 22, 1988 she made her debut in “Olho por Olho”, on TV Manchete.
Playing Dinorah, a recurring character, she became the first transvestite to participate in a Brazilian soap opera, with a delay of a decade in relation to participation cut by conservative pressure.
Cláudia Celeste was married to dancer Paulo Wagner, with whom she starred in several shows. In addition to being an actress and dancer, she was also a director, producer and author.
She died on May 13, 2018 of pneumonia.
He remembers his participation in “An Eye for an Eye”.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
