Members of Brazilian pop trio SNZ have traded girl-group stardom for evangelical preaching and new music ventures in the years following their split.
Sisters Sarah Sheeva, Nãna Shara, and Zabelê Gomes rose to national fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s, riding a wave of chart-topping pop singles before religious conversions altered their lives and led two of them to pulpit ministry.
The trio was formed in 1997 by the three sisters, who grew up immersed in the Brazilian music industry. They are the daughters of singer Baby do Brasil and guitarist Pepeu Gomes, celebrated figures in Brazilian popular music who made cultural history as members of the influential 1970s group Novos Baianos. Adopting an acronym composed of the first initials of their names, the trio established an energetic public profile marked by colorful fashion, synchronized choreography, and polished vocal arrangements that made them regulars on Brazilian television variety shows.
Their commercial breakthrough arrived with the single Retrato Imaginário, which became one of the most recognized Brazilian pop anthems of the period. The track proved so popular that the group released an uptempo dance version titled the G-Vô Remix, featuring a rhythmic production that closely resembled global hits by Britney Spears, including Oops! I Did It Again and Baby One More Time.
SNZ remained together until 2009, releasing three studio albums across their career. Their self-titled debut SNZ arrived in 2000, followed by Sarahnãnazabelê in 2001 and Zunzum e Pronto in 2007. The releases secured the sisters a lasting place in Brazilian popular culture, but spiritual shifts had already begun guiding them toward fundamentally different callings.
Sarah Sheeva and the Cult of the Princesses
Sarah Sheeva, the eldest and most widely recognized member of the group, was the first to depart. She chose to leave the band in 2003, at the height of its commercial prominence, following her personal conversion to evangelical Christianity. Now 53 years old, Sheeva has dedicated her entire public career to ministry, traveling as a Christian preacher and speaker.
Her transition into religious life initially included a solo musical path. In 2005, she released her debut gospel album, Tudo Mudou, before shifting her primary focus toward church platforms and public speaking. Over the years, Sheeva developed a distinct reputation for addressing conservative cultural values with humor and candid personal anecdotes.
Sheeva created the Culto das Princesas, or Cult of the Princesses, an outreach project developed specifically for religious women. Through conferences and courses, she instructs attendees on emotional well-being, female identity, and personal relationships within the framework of biblical commandments. Her teachings place particular emphasis on traditional notions of sanctity, self-respect, and strict sexual abstinence before marriage.
During her sermons, Sheeva frequently uses colloquial humor to discuss moral transformation, joking about turning wild women into virtuous princesses. She has also spoken openly about her own long-term celibacy, publicly telling congregations that she has spent many years without seeing the male sexual organ, which she playfully described from the pulpit as that wonderful thing.
Her strict convictions were evident even during her pop career. Sheeva revealed that she intervened to block an invitation from Playboy magazine for SNZ to pose nude, telling others involved that they should do it themselves if they wanted to participate. In subsequent years, she stirred further discussion by claiming that devout evangelicals should avoid listening even to secular classical music.
Nãna Shara and pastoral ministry in Florida
Nãna Shara, now 50, followed a parallel spiritual trajectory after stepping away from the girl group. Like her older sister, she experienced an evangelical conversion and redirected her career toward church leadership and the Christian gospel music industry.
Shara was ordained as a pastor through the Igreja Apostólica da Restauração. She now conducts her ministry at the Igreja Lagoinha da Rocha in Orlando, Florida, serving the significant Brazilian expatriate population in the region. She leads the congregation alongside her husband, Cláudio Teixeira, who is known in their church community as Pastor Brinco.
Together, the pastoral couple manages a family restoration ministry aimed at assisting married couples, family units, young adults, and unmarried church members. The initiative centers on emotional renewal, moral integrity, and practical adherence to religious commandments in everyday life.
Shara has also maintained a steady presence in the gospel music recording sector. She released a solo Christian album titled Novo Céu in 2016, and has continued to issue independent devotional songs in subsequent years. On social media, she regularly documents her church activities, ministerial travels, and domestic life with her family.
Zabelê Gomes and the TikTok revival
The middle sister, 51-year-old Zabelê Gomes, is the sole member of the trio who has chosen to remain active in secular pop music. Following the final disbandment of SNZ in 2009, Gomes relocated to the United States and made her home in New York City, where she frequently shares videos of city walks and daily life with her online followers.
Gomes uses her social media platforms to celebrate the legacy of SNZ, regularly sharing archival footage, commemorating career milestones, and communicating directly with fan clubs that supported the group from its inception.
That pop legacy found renewed life in 2025 when the group's signature single Retrato Imaginário went viral on TikTok. A new generation of younger listeners discovered the 2000s hit and began adopting the track as soundtrack audio for trending videos across the platform.
Gomes responded enthusiastically to the viral surge, expressing joy over the unexpected resurgence of the song and thanking the online audience for embracing the music and keeping the work of the three sisters alive.
