Biography
Who is Anabela?
Early musical beginnings
Anabela Braz Pires was born in Almada, Portugal, which is a suburb of Lisbon. She began her professional singing career at the age of eight by performing in various festivals for children. By 1989, she achieved success by winning the Grande Noite do Fado at age 12. That same year, she represented Portugal at the UNICEF Song Festival held in the Netherlands. She secured second place at that event and earned the Danny Kaye Award for Best Interpreter.
In 1991, she traveled to the Sopot International Song Festival to perform the song Brother. Following this, she released her debut albums on the Ovação label, starting with a self-titled record in 1991 and followed by Encanto in 1992.
Eurovision and early albums
In January 1993, she entered the Festival RTP da Canção. She tied for first place in the second heat with the song Pó de melhorar. She eventually won the final competition in March. This victory led her to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Millstreet, Ireland, in May. She performed the track A cidade, até ser dia. She achieved a tenth-place finish with 60 points, which marked the first time Portugal had placed in the top ten in two years. Later that year, she represented her country at the OTI Festival with the song Onde Estás, placing third.
Musical theatre and recording career
Her fourth album, Primeiras Águas, arrived in 1996 and featured the popular track Avenidas. During the same period, she began collaborating with producer Filipe La Féria. She appeared in the children's musical Jasmim ou o Sonho do Cinema. She later starred in the musical Koko in 1999. That same year, she released the album Origens, which was praised for its fado influence. In 2000, she recorded tracks with Carlos Núñez and toured internationally for over two years.
Upon returning to Portugal, Anabela played the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in a Lisbon production of My Fair Lady. In 2005, she released the album Aether, which featured interpretations of poems by Portuguese writers such as Fernando Pessoa and Florbela Espanca. She continued her theatrical work in 2006 by playing Maria von Trapp in a Portuguese production of The Sound of Music. She later performed as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Cristo Superstar and as Anita in an adaptation of West Side Story.
Voice acting roles
Beyond her stage and recording career, she is well known for her vocal work in film dubbing. She has provided the singing voice for several famous characters in Portuguese versions of major animated films. For Disney, she performed the singing parts for Ariel in The Little Mermaid, the main character in Mulan, and Rapunzel in Tangled. She also contributed her voice to the character Kayley in the Warner Bros film The Quest for Camelot. Also, she provided the singing voice for Miriam in the DreamWorks production of The Prince of Egypt.
Birthday and age
Anabela was born on September 22, 1976, which makes Anabela 50 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Anabela shares the date with 62 other famous people.
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