Actress. An award-winning romantic lead of the Brazilian and Italian cinema, she is perhaps best remembered for the dubious distinction of being the first ‘big name’ actress to be depicted frontally nude on screen. Born Norma Aparecida Almeida da Pinto Guimaraes d’Aurea Bengell, she first earned notice as a magazine and runway model then began appearing in stage reviews. Norma cut a 1959 record album which featured a rather heavily accented English version of the jazz standard “Fever” and that same year made her silver screen bow in the science fiction spoof “O Homem do Sputnik”. In 1962 she earned praise as a prostitute in “Keeper of Promises”, a film which received a Golden Palm at Cannes and an Oscar nomination as best foreign language film, but also stirred controversy by appearing completely naked as Leda in the crime drama “Os Cafajestas” (“The Jerks”). Married in 1963 to Italian actor Gabriele Tinti, she lived in Italy for several years and earned praise in a number of features including the 1962 comedy “Mafioso”, “Planet of the Vampires” (1965), 1966’s romantic comedy “As Cariocas”, and even two of the ‘spaghetti westerns’ popular at the time, 1966’s “The Hellbenders” and the 1967 “I Do Not Forgive…I Kill”. Returning to Brazil, she was kept busy for the next three decades, earning particular note for “Passion on the Beach” and “The Murdered House” (both 1971) and receiving Best Actress honors at the Brazilian Film Festival for her portrayal of a piano teacher in 1993’s “Vacancies for Well-Bred Young Women”. Mostly retired from the mid 1990s on, Norma earned a few directing credits including “Guarani” (1996), had regular television roles in “Toma La, Da Ca” and “Alta Estacao”, and made one final big screen appearance as Madame Xavier in the 2013 “Tabu”. At her death from lung cancer a number of her performances were preserved on DVD. (bio by: Bob Hufford)