Famous Brazilian Media Personalities

Kelly Piquet is a Brazilian model, blogger, columnist, and public relations professional. Piquet has made immense contributions to Marie Claire magazine as a columnist. As a model, she has posed for brands like PatBO. Kelly Piquet is also known as the daughter of famous Brazilian racing driver Nelson Piquet. 

Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian photojournalist and social documentary photographer. His photographic projects, which have appeared in numerous books and press publications, have taken him to over 120 countries. Sebastião Salgado is a recipient of several prestigious honors and awards such as the Oskar Barnack Award and Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal.

Vinicius de Moraes was a Brazilian poet, essayist, playwright, lyricist, musician, singer, and diplomat. His compositions and lyrics played important roles in the introduction and popoularization of bossa nova music. Vinicius de Moraes is best remembered for his collaborations with popular musicians like Antônio Carlos Jobim. His play Orfeu da conceição was adapted into an Oscar-winning film titled Black Orpheus.

Silvio Santos is a Brazilian media tycoon, entrepreneur, and television host. He is best known as the host of Programa Silvio Santos, the second-longest running TV show in Brazil. Widely regarded as the most famous person in Brazil, Silvio Santos is the only celebrity from the country to be featured on Forbes magazine's list of billionaires.

José Sarney is a Brazilian politician and lawyer. He served as the 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. His tenure was fraught with problems like rampant inflation and corruption. He also faced multiple allegations of nepotism in his career. Two of his children are also politicians. One of Brazil’s foremost oligarchs, he owns multiple media organizations. 

Monteiro Lobato was a Brazilian writer best known for his children’s books. He authored a set of educational but entertaining children's books and this brought him much fame. He also wrote numerous novels and short tales for adult readers, but these weren’t as popular as his children’s books. He founded the publishing house Companhia Editora Nacional. 

Carlos Drummond de Andrade was a Brazilian poet and writer. Many critics consider him to be the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. His widely influential poem Canção Amiga has been featured on the 50-cruzado novo bill, making him a cultural icon in Brazil. He was much revered by American poets Mark Strand and Lloyd Schwartz, who translated his works. 

Cristina Córdula is a former international model, TV host, and fashion consultant. She is best known for her work with M6, a famous French television channel, where she hosted popular shows like Les Reines du shopping.

Roberto Marinho was a Brazilian businessman who owned the media conglomerate Grupo Globo from 1925 to 2003. The son of a publisher, he inherited the newspaper O Globo from his father and began working there as a reporter, gradually moving up the ranks. As the owner, he expanded the company from newspapers to radio and TV.  

Euclides da Cunha was a Brazilian engineer and journalist. He attended Escola Militar da Praia Vermelha as a young man. He then studied civil engineering and began his career as a journalist. He was elected to the Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Academy of Letters) in 1903. He was murdered by his wife’s affair partner in 1909. 

Patricia Abravanel is a Brazilian TV host, businesswoman, and producer. She is best known as the daughter of media tycoon Silvio Santos. Patricia Abravanel made headlines in 2001 when she was kidnapped in São Paulo. She was held in captivity for about a week and the news of her kidnap spread like wildfire, making her a household name in Brazil.

Brazilian author Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto was one of the greatest figures of pre-modernism and also a talented journalist. Best known for his iconic novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, he was a master of satire. He later suffered from serious bouts of mental illness.

Rachel de Queiroz was a Brazilian writer, journalist, and translator. She achieved national prominence in 1930 with the release of her debut novel O Quinze, which was adapted into a movie in 2004. Rachel became the first female writer to be elected as a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras in 1977. In 1993, she received the Camões Prize. 

Pedro Bial is a Brazilian producer, director, writer, and TV presenter who is best known for hosting the reality show Big Brother Brasil and the variety show Fantástico. He graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro with a degree in journalism. He began his career as a reporter, gradually making his way to be a TV presenter. 

Claudia Andujar is a Swiss-born Brazilian activist and photographer. She has achieved popularity as a photojournalist and her work has been featured on various magazines such as Realidade, Fortune, Aperture, and Life. Claudia Andujar is best known for documenting the culture of the Yanomami tribe. Her efforts to help the Yanomani people earned her a Cultural Freedom Prize in 2000.

João da Cruz e Sousa was a Brazilian journalist and poet best remembered as one of the first Symbolist poets from Brazil. His books Broquéis and Missal, which he published in 1893, introduced the Symbolist movement in Brazil. As a journalist, João da Cruz e Sousa worked for the famous newspaper Tribuna Popular and wrote abolitionist articles.

Ciro Pessoa was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, and journalist. He was one of the founding members of the influential rock band Titãs. He developed an early interest in music and began to perform in local music festivals when he was just 12. Throughout his career, he formed numerous musical projects and also performed solo.  

Rubem Braga was a Brazilian writer and war correspondent. During the Second World War, Braga worked for the popular newspaper Diário Carioca. He was also renowned for his short stories and became one of the few Brazilians to achieve recognition by writing short stories. 

Rodrigo Rodrigues is an actor, filmmaker, film producer, theatrical producer, director, author, and set and costume designer. He is credited with developing a facial expression technique, which he taught to the students at the prestigious Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland; one of his pupils was Aidan Turner of The Hobbit fame. Rodrigues has received many awards for his contributions.

Adonias Filho was a Brazilian novelist, journalist, essayist, and literary critic. Some of his works still have a major impact on contemporary Brazilian literature. In 1969, Adonias Filho was honored at Academia Brasileira de Letras with the 21st chair.

Octávio Frias was a Brazilian businessman best remembered for turning Folha de S. Paulo, a newspaper acquired by him in 1962, into one of the most important and influential media organizations in Brazil. Folha de S. Paulo became the basis for a conglomerate named Grupo Folha. 

Barbosa Lima Sobrinho was a Brazilian writer, essayist, lawyer, historian, journalist, and politician. He wrote more than 70 books and served as one of the most important members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In the late 1990s, Barbosa Lima Sobrinho became the oldest active journalist, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Cristina Greeven Cuomo is an entrepreneur and media personality best known as the wife of CNN News anchor, Chris Cuomo. She is credited with helping publications, such as Gotham and The Purist, evolve creatively and profit financially. She is also credited with launching her own website and journal that focuses on wellness and lifestyle.

Antônio Callado was a Brazilian lawyer, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He studied law and began working as a journalist and was associated with the BBC's Brazilian Service from 1941 to 1947. He eventually started writing fiction as well. His novel Quarup is regarded as his most famous work. He received many literary prizes including the Golfinho de Ouro. 

Alceu Amoroso Lima was a Brazilian writer, activist, and journalist. He is credited with founding the Brazilian Christian Democracy. Lima opposed authoritarianism and Fascism and called for the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil. He also advocated freedom of speech during the period of dictatorship. Alceu Amoroso Lima also served as a professor at prestigious institutions.

Cassiano Ricardo was a Brazilian poet, literary critic, and journalist. An exponent of Brazilian modernism, Ricardo is credited with co-founding the mystical nationalist journal Novíssima. He also launched the Green-Yellow movement and co-founded the Flag group as part of his efforts to popularize modernism in Brazil. In 1937, Cassiano Ricardo was made a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Mario Calixto Filho was a Brazilian politician, businessman, and journalist. He is best remembered for his service as the Senator for the state of Rondônia from 2004 to 2005. In 2015, Mario Calixto Filho was arrested by the police after being accused of government procurement fraud. He was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment and died in prison in 2020.