Iolanda Braga (11 October 1941 Rio de Janeiro – 12 May 2021) was a Brazilian actress and dancer. She was the first Black woman to star in a Brazilian soap opera, in A Cor da Sua Pele (1965) on TV Tupi.
Life
In 1958, Braga debuted in the show Um Milhão de Dólares de Baby.
In 1963, she made her television debut on TV Excelsior as a dancer on the programs Colê É O Show and A Cidade Se Diverte.
Braga was chosen to star in the soap opera A Cor da Sua Pele, becoming the first Black actress to star in a Brazilian soap opera and also the first interracial kiss on television, alongside Leonardo Villar.
In 1966, she moved to Portugal to star in the show Minha Querida Mulatinha alongside Raul Solnado. In 1970, she joined the Brasiliana dance group, where she toured Europe for eight years.
ln 1978, she joined the cast of the soap opera O Direito de Nascer on Rede Tupi as the clumsy Conchita.
Braga died on 12 May 2021.
References
1941 births
2021 deaths
Brazilian soap opera actresses
20th-century Brazilian actresses
Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city)