Grazielli Massafera

Infobox actor
name = Grazielli Massafera

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imagesize = 180px
caption = Grazielli Massafera
birthdate = birth date and age|1982|6|28
location = Jacarezinho, Paraná, Brazil flagicon|Brazil
notable role =Thelminha in Páginas da Vida (2006/2007)Maria in "The Passion of Christ".

Grazielli Massafera (born June 28, 1982 in Jacarezinho, Paraná, Brazil) is a Brazilian former model and TV actress.

In 2004, Massafera won the Miss Paraná Beauty pageant contest, and represented the state in that year's Miss Brasil contest. She finished third, which earned her the title of "Miss Brasil Internacional", which symbolizes the right to represent the country in the Miss International contest, held annually in China. On the international pageant, "Grazi" (as she is commonly known) not placed in the semi-finals.

Big Brother

In 2005, she took part in the fifth season of the Brazilian version of the reality show Big Brother, known as Big Brother Brasil (BBB). The season was the most-watched season ever and Grazi was one of the most charismatic participants on the show. She was known for being honest, good-hearted and for eating nonstop while still maintaining her thin and glamorous shape. Alan, on the other hand, was a very unpopular contestant. However, after he started dating Grazi on the reality show, he became very popular. Grazi ended in second, with 40% of the votes.

After BBB

Grazi, with her stunning looks and great personality, became the second Big Brother contestant to become a real celebrity (the first one being Sabrina Sato). After the show, she ended up on covers of numerous magazines and had several commercial deals and appeared in lots of events. Surprisingly, commercial deals and magazine cover pictures continued, even after the next Big Brother started (by the time the next Big Brother started, all contestants of the previous seasons are already usually forgotten).

Right after the show, Grazi signed a 1-year contract with Globo, Brazil's most powerful television channel. She soon started working as a reporter on the successful Saturday afternoon teen show Caldeirão do Huck. At the time, Globo was planning to transform Grazi in the "new Xuxa", thinking about a children's show for her.

She also posed nude for Brazilian Playboy in the August 2005 issue. Different from the American version, A-listers in Brazil usually accept posing naked for the magazine. Grazi was one of their highest-paid stars to pose in Playboy. Her photo shoot was much less risqué than usual. She showed almost nothing, which made the edition highly criticized. Even though the photos of the prude shoot leaked on the internet, the Grazi edition of Playboy sold twice what a typical edition would sell.

Acting

She frequently talked about her dreams of becoming an actress and she started acting classes at Globo acting department. Her first starring role was Renato Aragao 2005 movie: Didi, o Caçador de Tesouros. Renato Aragão (Didi) releases annually a family movie and his movies are usually among the most-watched movies every years.

At the beginning of 2006 it was revealed that Massafera would get a part in the respected writer Manuel Carlos' next soap. Initially, she only had a small role on the Rede Globo soap opera, Páginas da Vida, which during its airing was the #1 show on Brazilian television, achieving record ratings. However, due to her popularity, her part was expanded, and eventually became one of the main characters of the soap. Her acting was acclaimed by the press and the public alike and she became one of the biggest celebrities in the country. For her acting, she received a Prêmio Contigo as best newcomer and a Prêmio de Imprensa as personality of the year.

Her May 2007 cover of "Boa Forma" magazine was her 134th cover since 2005. She also stole the spotlight when she participated in the parade of one of the most prestigious Samba schools in Rio Carnival in the 2007 carnival. In Easter she played Maria in the theatrical version of "The Passion of Christ".

She dated Alan, one of her fellow ex-Big Brother contestants. Right after the show, he was also a big celebrity and the two of them starred several advertising campaigns together. But soon after, his star faded while she continued a huge celebrity. Their relationship ended in April 2007. Soon after, Massafera visited Portugal where she was also very popular because of her role in Páginas da Vida and shot commercials.

From 2007 to 2008 Massafera starred in the soap Desejo Proibido. In 2008 she was crowned queen of the Copacabana Palace carnival, a very traditional event in Brazil, known in the past for its guests of Hollywood Golden Era.

The Bolsa Família threat

In august 2007, Curitiba's newspaper Gazeta do Povo reported "Grazi's" mother, Cleuma Soares Massafera, received illegally her benefits of Bolsa Família assist program. After the repercussion of the history in media, the minister of Social Enviroment, Patrus Ananias, cutted the assistance due the higher financial conditions of her famous daughter.

So, Cleuma (in interview to Folha de São Paulo's columnist Monica Bérgamo) cogited to action by lawsuit against the reporter who published its history. She accused the newspapers were published her situation (includding the "Folha"'s blogger and columnist for politics Josias de Souza). As of 2008, no longer news were published about this topic.

Television work

*"Big Brother Brasil" (2005)
*"Páginas da Vida" (2006-2007)
*"Desejo Proibido" (2007-2008)

Filmography

*"Didi, o caçador de tesouros" (2005)
*"Shark Bait" (2006) (voice) - Brazilian Version

External links

* [http://www.grazielli.com/ Official site] (in Portuguese)
* [http://www.grazielli.blogger.com.br/ Official Blog] (in Portuguese)