Lúcia Moniz
Moniz in 2014
Moniz in 2014
Background information
Birth nameAna Lúcia Pereira Moniz
Born (1976-09-09) 9 September 1976
Lisbon, Portugal
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Years active1996–present

Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz (born 9 September 1976) is a Portuguese singer and actress. Moniz represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 and has released five music albums to date. She has also acted in several television shows, in theatre, and in films, most prominently in the 2003 British ensemble film Love Actually.[1][2]

Life and career

Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz was born on 9 September 1976 in Lisbon, Portugal. She is the eldest of two daughters of composer, performer, and conductor Carlos Alberto Moniz, and singer and actress Maria do Amparo.[1][3] She spent the early years of her life on the Azorian island of Terceira, where both her parents were born, but moved with her family to Lisbon after the archipelago was struck by a serious earthquake in 1980.[4] From the age of 5 or 6[lower-alpha 1] to 14, she was a pupil at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, until deciding to pursue a career in the visual arts rather than in music.[2][5]

In 1993–1994, Moniz attended Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota as an AFS Intercultural Programs exchange student, obtaining her high school diploma. Whilst there, she sang in the school choir and performed in a school production of the musical Kiss Me, Kate.[6]

Moniz was still relatively unknown in Portugal when, at the age of 19, she entered the Festival da Canção with the song "O meu coração não tem cor".[lower-alpha 2] Unexpectedly, she reached the final on 7 March 1996, winning by a margin of just four points. She went on to represent her country in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest,[lower-alpha 3] where she finished sixth out of 23 contestants.[12] As of 2022, Moniz remains Portugal's second most successful participant, after the country won the competition in 2017.[13]

In 1997, Moniz began acting on TV, as the twins Susana/Bárbara in the soap opera A Grande Aposta. Due to her success, she was cast in another soap, Terra Mãe, which was also successful. She didn't have time to finish her degree in design.

In 1999, Moniz released her first studio album, Magnolia,[14] named after the village near Boston in the United States, where it was recorded.[15] The record includes rhythmic pop songs unlike her Eurovision entry, sung both in Portuguese and English. It reached the top 20 in the Portuguese albums chart[16] and was certified Gold.

Moniz's next album, called 67 as it took this number of days to complete, was released by her record label EMI in April 2002.[15] It was made with her longtime producer, Nuno Bettencourt, and co-produced with multi-instrumentalist Anthony J. Resta.

In 2003, Moniz got her international break when she played the role of Aurélia in the film Love Actually, among a cast that included Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, and Rodrigo Santoro. Her character only speaks Portuguese, while Firth's only speaks English. By the end of the movie, they are in love and engaged.

In 2004, Moniz's daughter with Portuguese musician Donovan Bettencourt, Julia Bettencourt Moniz, was born in the Azores.[17][18]

Moniz returned to the music scene in 2005, three years after the release of 67, with the album Leva-me p'ra casa ("Take Me Home").

After a six-year gap, Moniz released her fourth album, Fio de Luz (2011). This was followed by Calendário in 2015.

In 2011, the design work for a cookbook undertaken by Moniz received a Gourmand Award, and a book of her photographs, Vou Tentar Falar Sem Dizer Nada, was published two years later.[19][20]

Moniz reprised her role from Love Actually for Red Nose Day Actually, a short-film sequel that was broadcast on British television in March 2017 to raise money for the charity Comic Relief.[21] In 2021, she won the Best Performance award at the Raindance Film Festival for her role as the struggling mother of a deaf child in the 2020 film Listen.[22]

Selected filmography

Film

List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Love Actually Aurélia
2014 The Right Juice Nesta
2017 Red Nose Day Actually Aurélia Short
2020 Fatima Maria Rosa
2020 Listen Bela

Television

List of television appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Notes
1997–98 A Grande Aposta Bárbara Gomes / Susana Gomes 150 episodes
1998 Terra Mãe Ana 146 episodes
2001–01 Ajuste de Contas Joaninha 150 episodes
2001 Alves dos Reis, um Seu Criado Henriqueta 3 episodes
2003 Saber Amar Lúcia Vidal 200 episodes
2006–08 Aqui Não Há Quem Viva Rute 11 episodes
2007 Vingança Laura Ramalho 214 episodes
2008–09 Olhos nos Olhos Cristina Ferreira 186 episodes
2010 Living in Your Car Carol 13 episodes
2011–13 Maternidade Madalena Pires 39 episodes
2013 Dancin' Days Paula 3 episodes
2013–16 Bem-Vindos a Beirais Susana Fontes 635 episodes
2015–16 Coração d'Ouro Joana Amaral 326 episodes
2017–18 Espelho d'Água Carmo Goulart 327 episodes
2019 Solteira e Boa Rapariga Carla 26 episodes
2020 Na Corda Bamba Isabel Da Paz 74 episodes

Discography

  • Magnólia (1999)
  • 67 (2002)
  • Leva-me p'ra casa (2005)
  • Fio de Luz (2011)
  • Calendário (2015)

Notes

  1. ↑ Moniz is quoted as giving both ages.[2][5]
  2. ↑ Moniz's father had co-written and performed songs in the 1979,[7] 1981,[8] and 1986[9] festivals. He also co-wrote the song performed by Helena Isabel at the 1980 event.[10]
  3. ↑ Moniz progressed to the final in Oslo through a secret, audio-only qualifying round, which was held to reduce the number of finalists from 29 to 22 (not including the host nation, Norway).[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lúcia Moniz". Eurovision Song Contest. Le Grand-Saconnex: European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Farinha, Ricardo (29 November 2020). "Lúcia Moniz: "A história do 'Love Actually' é real e aconteceu com uma portuguesa" [Lúcia Moniz: The Story of 'Love Actually' is Real and It Happened to a Portuguese Woman]. NiT (in Portuguese). Lisbon: MadMen. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Carlos Alberto Moniz". Meloteca (in Portuguese). Sandim: Meloteca. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  4. ↑ Armés, Diego & Santana, José (25 November 2020). "Essay on power – Interview with Lúcia Moniz – English version". GQ Portugal. Lisbon: Lighthouse Publishing. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 Pinto, Cláudia (25 February 2021). "Interview with Lúcia Moniz". Portuguese Soul. Porto: APICCAPS (Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods Manufactures' Association). Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Turn Back the Page: In 2004, Family Recalled 'Love Actually' Star as Exchange Student". Southwest News Media. Shakopee. 1 January 2014 [2004]. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022. (Only the archived version is available in the UK and EU).
  7. ↑ "Festival da Canção 1979: Carlos Alberto Moniz & Maria Do Amparo – "A outra banda"". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Festival da Canção 1981: Carlos Alberto Moniz & Maria Do Amparo – "Olá rapariga, olá"". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Festival da Canção 1986: Carlos Alberto Moniz & A Banda – "Canção para José da Lata"". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Festival da Canção 1980: Helena Isabel – "Um abraço mais nada"". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  11. ↑ O'Connor, John Kennedy (2007). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History. London: Carlton Books. p. 144. ISBN 9781844429943. Retrieved 27 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ↑ "Oslo 1996 Final – Scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest. Le Grand-Saconnex: European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "Countries – Portugal". Eurovision Song Contest. Le Grand-Saconnex: European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Lucia Moniz". Central Models. Lisbon. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Leve Lúcia Moniz para casa". Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Confina Media. 4 April 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  16. ↑ "Top National Sellers – Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 10. London: BPI Communications Inc. 4 March 2000. p. 13. ISSN 1385-612X. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  17. ↑ Alegria, Claudia (13 March 2022). "Lúcia Moniz: 'As artes trabalham e provocam a nossa sensibilidade'". Caras (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Trust in News. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  18. ↑ Redacção, Caras (7 January 2008). "Lúcia Moniz já não esconde que está apaixonada e feliz". Caras (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Trust in News. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  19. ↑ Moniz, Lúcia (2013). Vou tentar falar sem dizer nada [I'll Try to Speak without Talking] (in Portuguese). Barcarena: Marcador Editora. ISBN 9789897540233. OCLC 870964963.
  20. ↑ Pago, Ana (9 December 2013). "Imagens que valem mil palavras" [Pictures Paint a Thousand Words]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Global Media Group. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  21. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (24 March 2017). "Red Nose Day Actually Review – Not Funny, But At least It Raised Money". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  22. ↑ Raindance (6 November 2021). "Raindance Film Festival 2021 Awards!". Raindance. London. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
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