Where life took the actors of the soap opera “Escrava Isaura”, whose plot we still remember with specks in our eyes

The soap opera Escrava Isaura, launched in 1976, was broadcast in over 80 countries. Many of us watched the production and then rewatched it several times with great pleasure. There are those who have also read the homonymous novel, by Bernardo Guimarães, which served as the basis for the success of Brazilian TV. However, it is the actors and actresses who hold a special place in our hearts.

O awesome.club recalled some of the characters of the soap opera, who gave us good laughs and exciting stories for 100 chapters, and we discovered the fate of the artists who gave them life.

Roberto gained fame at the age of 29, when he incarnated Isaura’s first passion. The public sympathized with him so much that, even after the character’s passing, they continued to believe that Tobias was still alive and would return with his better half. Interestingly, this hero does not appear in the original story of the book of the same name.

In addition to participating in soap operas and films, Roberto made plays. His biggest success was with the comedy Trair e Coçar É Só Iniciar, in which the actor remained acting for 14 years. From the mid-1970s onwards, the artist worked on several Globo productions side by side with celebrities such as Regina Duarte and Vera Fischer. By the way, Roberto Pirillo’s daughter followed her father’s profession and also became an actress.

Norma Blum played the wife of the main villain of the plot, Leôncio. Although her husband’s perversities made Isaura’s life increasingly difficult, Malvina herself was kind and compassionate to the poor girl. The actress started her career in the mid-20th century as a script assistant. Afterwards, the woman worked as a TV presenter. In the 1970s, Norma entered the world of soap operas. In 1992, due to health problems, the artist retired, but returned to the big screen in the early 2000s. In addition, she also writes books.

Rosa, a slave to the former owner of the plantation, who had a distaste for Isaura, was one of the main characters in the soap opera. Winning her first villain role was challenging for the actress. Many viewers could not separate the artist’s art, so they believed that Léa herself was full of evil, as her character. Therefore, she was able to professionally deal with prejudices.

In her youth, the famous dreamed of being a writer, but everything changed after her meeting with playwright Abdias do Nascimento, with whom she had two children. It was he who convinced her to become an actress. In 1957, the woman was nominated for the award for best female interpretation at the Cannes Festival for her performance in the film Orfeu Negro, also known as Orfeu do Carnaval. Today, at 89 years old, the star still actively appears in several films and soap operas, in addition to having accounts on social networks.

Edwin Luisi’s character entered the soap opera after Tobias passed away. He began courting Isaura, and as soon as he discovered that the girl was a runaway slave, he saved the young woman and asked her to marry him. The actor studied History of Art and the French language in France, in addition to graduating from the School of Dramatic Art, at the University of São Paulo. The star used to combine film, television and theater. He has an adopted son, Cláudio Andrade, who also turned into an actor, and a small granddaughter. By the way, Edwin and Lucélia, Isaura’s interpreter, have been friends for over 40 years.

At age 17, Myrian rocked a talent contest. She then became a model and, since 1976, has acted in soap operas. She joined the cast of Escrava Isaura as Aninha, Leôncio’s second wife. In 2001, she also played a role in The Clone.

The love story of the actress herself is also worthy of a movie. In 1973, she went to a Roberto Carlos show. The girl got the impression that the singer did not take his eyes off her during the performance. After four years, coincidentally, they ended up flying in the seats next to each other and had time to get to know each other better. Due to bad weather conditions, the plane landed in a different city than the destination, and the artist gave Myrian a lift. That’s how she started her romance, which lasted ten years. The spouses divorced as soon as the actress learned that Roberto had had a vasectomy. She felt cheated as she wanted to have children. Subsequently, the famous still had a few romances and two marriages, which gave her two children.

Mario was born in Portugal. He majored in Psychology, but didn’t stay in the business for long. The star moved to Brazil and started to work as a model and, later, as an actor. He made a name for himself around the world thanks to the role of Henrique Fontoura, Malvina’s kind-hearted brother.

He is also a voice actor and dubbing director. He voiced one of The Simpsons characters. The famous has two children: the girl went on to dental school, and the boy studied Computer Science.

After taking possession of his family’s assets, Leôncio teases Isaura throughout the novel, because the girl does not reciprocate his feelings. This role became the main one in Rubens de Falco’s career. The curious thing is that, in the new adaptation of the novel, Rubens played Leôncio’s father, which was one of his last performances.

The actor was never married, but he had a quick romance with Susana Vieira. According to the actress, they fell in love with each other on the recordings of the soap opera A Sucessora, but were unable to take the relationship further, since they lived in different cities.

Henriette Morineau marked her brief appearance in the telenovela as a renowned French actress who suggests that Isaura leave Brazil with her. Henriette herself was also born in France, in 1908. In 1926, she entered the Paris Conservatoire. After meeting her future husband, she moved to Brazil. Escrava Isaura was the second soap opera with her participation. The celebrity spent 60 years dedicating himself to the world of cinema and theater and passed away at the age of 82.

Isaac gave life to the cruel overseer Francisco, a role that brought him worldwide fame. In addition to acting in soap operas and humorous productions, he also did voiceovers. His low voice was one of the most recognizable in the country. By the way, Isaac was a friend of Hugh Jackman and the Brazilian voice of the character Wolverine, played by the Australian actor. The men met on the show The Noite with Danilo Gentili. When Isaac passed away, Hugh Jackman paid an emotional tribute to the actor on social media.

In 1976, on the left, and in 2022, on the right.

The protagonist of the soap opera grew up in a large family. At age 9, she heard an actress on the radio asking children to audition. From there, the actress gradually discovered her true vocation. After a string of small roles, the major participation in Escrava Isaura completed her resume in 1976. Soon, Lucélia became a star on a world scale, receiving one offer after another. In total, the diva acted in more than 30 movies and TV shows.

Interestingly, 46 years after the release of Escrava Isaura, Lucélia Santos and Edwin Luisi returned to play spouses in the Portuguese soap opera Na Corda Bamba. For the actress, this was the only project in the last ten years. The last film with her participation was released in 2020. She gave up cinema, actively uses social media and draws society’s attention to deforestation. The celebrity has a son, Pedro, from her marriage to composer and conductor John Neschling. Already in 2017, she became a grandmother.

Have you watched Slave Isaura? Which of the scenes marked her memory?