Jéssica Barbosa

Born to a Nutritionist and restaurant owner and a bank clerk from Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, Jessica had her talent discovered as a potential actress and model while working as a cashier at her mother's restaurant. After moving to São Paulo (2006) and then to Rio (2007) while working as a model for Elite Models, and as an actress for small theater productions, Jessica had her first break on the big screen in capoeira-themed action blockbuster Besouro (Beetle the movie, by João Daniel Tikhomiroff). For her role as Dinorá, the female heroine and counterpart to Besouro, she won the 2009 Raça Negra award for best actress. Over the following years, she appeared in films such as "Na Quebrada" (Fernando Grostein, 2015) and Mormaço (Marina Meliand, 2018), and in the soap opera Em Família (written by Manoeal Carlos and directed by Jayme Monjardim, 2014). In 2016, Jessica premiered her first short film as a director -- Cicatriz -- and the first show by her dance-theater Impele company, "Mar de Ressaca", directed by award winning Marco André Nunes. She lives in Rio de Janeiro with her husband and son.