Adriana Ferreyr

Adriana Ferreyr was born in Salvador, Bahia - the country's first colonial capital - in northeastern Brazil. She became one of the most popular actresses in Brazil after appearing as a lead character on the prime-time series Marisol at the age of 19. Her acting career started in the theater at the age of eight when she joined the theater company of the late and widely respected Fernando Peltier. She acted in several plays, among which: The Butterfly's Garden, Monica and her pals, The Sound of Music and The Bees' Garden, for which she won an award for best child actress. As a child in Brazil, she also appeared in numerous television commercials. Growing up, she underwent rigorous training in classical ballet. She studied with Louise Sandy at her ballet school in Salvador, and also studied with a Joffrey Ballet director at Ballet Dalal Achcar in Rio. At the age of 15, she was an exchange student at Monroe-Woodbury High School in Central Valley, New York, where her coursework extended to advanced math, physics and Advanced Placement Physics (Electromagnetism). On Saturdays during that time, she took acting, dance and singing lessons at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. At the end of the program at 15, she was awarded a scholarship to attend Bard College at Simon's Rock. She chose to return to Brazil, matriculating into law school at age 16 at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Around that time, she became an apprentice and protégé of Camila Amado. While in Rio, she received rave reviews for playing Miss Julie in "Miss Julie" by Strindberg. She later starred in the one-woman play Walse Number 6 by Nelson Rodrigues, All's Well That Ends Well as Helena and several other plays. In 2002 she starred in the prime time series Marisol playing the antagonist, Vanessa Lima do Vale, Marisol's adopted daughter. She returned to the United States to study at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts and later pursued a double major in financial economics and philosophy with a minor in computer science at Columbia University's School of General Studies. She is currently heading two innovative start-up companies in Silicon Valley, where she is reading scripts in anticipation of her next role. Ferreyr is also passionate about social entrepreneurship. She has worked and volunteered for several charitable organizations, pursuing a special interest in helping disadvantaged children. Her volunteer work has extended to a number of organizations, including the Association of the Pioneiras Sociais (APS), Caminhos da Luz (Ways of Light) and Fundacao ABRINQ, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the defense of human and civil rights for children and adolescents. In 2006 she founded Tijuana Children's Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping thousands of children living in poverty on the streets of Tijuana, Mexico