{{Short description|Brazilian actress (1932–2020)}} {{Portuguese name|Xavier|Queiroz}} {{Infobox person | name = Chica Xavier | image = Chica Xavier cropped.jpg | alt = | caption = Xavier in 2010 | birth_name = Francisca Xavier Queiroz | birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|1|22|df=yes}} | birth_place = Salvador, Bahia, Brazil | death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|8|8|1932|1|22|df=yes}} | death_place = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | years_active = 1953–2012 | spouse = {{marriage|Clementino Kelé|1956}} | children = 3 | occupation = Actress }}
''' Francisca Xavier Queiroz de Jesus''' (22 January 1932 – 8 August 2020), known professionally as '''Chica Xavier''', was a Brazilian actress and producer. Xavier worked in stage, film, and television. She was known primarily for her work in Rede Globo's telenovelas, but was active in stage for 60 years. Xavier was born in Salvador, Bahia. She was married to actor Clementino Kelé.<ref name="b"/><ref name="e"/><ref name="t"/>
Xavier started working at 14 years as bookbinder at the Official Press of the State of Bahia. She moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1953 and studied theater with Pascoal Carlos Magno. Her theater debut was on September 25, 1956 at the Teatro Municipal. Xavier acted in ''Orfeu da Conceição'' alongside Haroldo Costa, Léa Garcia, Cyro Monteiro, Dirce Paiva, Clementino Kelé, among others. Xavier played the role of Dama Negra, which symbolized Death; she recited verses from Vinícius de Moraes and danced to ''atabaques'', or Afro-Brazilian drumming.<ref name="e"/>
Xavier's film debut was in ''Assalto ao Trem Pagador'' in 1962, directed by Roberto Farias. She then worked in several Rede Globo productions. In 1973 Xavier debuted on TV in the telenovela ''Os Ossos do Barão''. She played more than 50 characters on television, and was a cast member in ''Sinhá Moça'', ''Dancin' Days'', ''Renascer'', ''Pátria Minha'', ''Força de um Desejo'', and the miniseries ''Tenda dos Milagres'', where she played the ''mãe-de-santo'' Magé Bassã.<ref name="b"/>
Xavier published ''Chica Xavier canta sua prosa: Cantigas, louvações e rezas para os orixás'' in 1999. The book had a preface by her friend Miguel Falabella, and was illustrated by her daughter Izabela d'Oxóssi. She was the subject of a biography in 2013 by Teresa Montero titled ''Chica Xavier: Mãe do Brasil''. Xavier was born at a Candomblé ''terreiro'', or temple. She was the leader of a Candomblé religious community in Rio de Janeiro, the Cercado de Boiadeiro.<ref name="e"/>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1962|| ''O Assalto ao Trem Pagador'' || Lino's wife || |- |1973|| ''Um Virgem na Praça'' || || |- |1975|| ''Uma Mulata Para Todos'' || || |- |1979|| ''Lerfá Mú'' || || |- |1979|| ''A Deusa Negra'' || || |- |1983|| ''Inocência'' || || |- |1986|| ''Sinhá Moça'' || Virgínia || TV series |- |1988|| ''Fera Radical'' || Júlia || TV series |- |1993|| ''Encontros imperfeitos'' || D. Joana || |- |1993|| ''Renascer'' || Inácia || |- |1996|| ''O Rei do Gado'' || || TV series |- |1999|| ''Força de um Desejo'' || Rosália || TV series |- |2001|| ''A Partilha'' || Bá Toinha || |- |2002|| ''Esperança'' || Nhá Rita || TV series |- |2004|| ''Um Só Coração'' || Isolina || TV mini-series |- |2006|| ''Só Deus Sabe'' || Mãe de Santo || |- |2007-2008|| ''Duas Caras'' || Setembrina || 51 episodes |- |2010|| ''Nosso Lar'' || Ismália || |- |2016|| ''Mulheres no Poder'' || Senadora entrevistada || (final film role) |}
==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="b">{{cite news |last=Brito |first=Carlos |last2=Gimenez |first2=Elza |url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/08/08/chica-xavier-morre-no-rio.ghtml |title=Chica Xavier, atriz de 'Sinhá Moça' e 'Renascer', morre aos 88 anos |language=pt |work=G1 |publisher=Globo Comunicação e Participações |date=2020-08-08 |accessdate=2020-08-10 }}</ref>
<ref name="e">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Lopes |first=Nei |encyclopedia=Enciclopédia brasileira da diáspora africana |title=Xavier, Chica |date=2014 |publisher=Selo Negro Edições}}</ref>
<ref name="t">{{cite news |url=http://atarde.uol.com.br/cultura/noticias/2135234-artistas-lamentam-falecimento-de-chica-xavier |title=Artistas lamentam falecimento de Chica Xavier |language=pt |work=A Tarde |location=Salvador |date=2020-08-09 |accessdate=2020-08-10 |archive-date=2020-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812171208/http://www.atarde.uol.com.br/cultura/noticias/2135234-artistas-lamentam-falecimento-de-chica-xavier |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0944382}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xavier, Chica}} Category:1936 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Actresses from Salvador, Bahia Category:Afro-Brazilian actresses Category:20th-century Brazilian actresses Category:Brazilian television actresses Category:Brazilian telenovela actresses Category:Brazilian film actresses
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