Lua Blanco
Lua Maria Blanco was a Brazilian actress, singer, songwriter, translator and writer.
Lua was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on March 5, 1987, the daughter of musician Billy Blanco Junior and Maria Claudia Blanco. She was the granddaughter of Billy Blanco, who was a successful bossa nova artist. Blanco was born in São Paulo and, at the time of her death, resided in Rio de Janeiro. She was raised in a large family of musicians; she has an older brother Pedro Sol and four younger siblings. They were raised in an U.S. christian cult and were home-schooled in English and later learned Portuguese. The family moved often, including living in Peru for two years. The children were active in musical and social projects since early on. She performed from a very young age in a musical group with her parents and siblings. Lua and her siblings recorded an album called O Trem do Arco-Íris (The Rainbow Train), in Portuguese and English, that was never released by Sony Music. Later, in 2004, Sony released a self-distributed Christmas album with the whole family, called Família Blanco – É Natal (It's Christmas) (2004).
Early career (2005–2006)
At the time of the release of the Christmas album, Lua, and her family spent weekends and holidays performing in restaurants, shopping malls and in other small venues in Rio de Janeiro. Their set-list consisted mostly of bossa nova and Beatles songs. In 2006, at age 19, Lua got accepted into the Catholic University PUC-Rio, to study English and Portuguese translation. While in college, she met André Sigaud, Rique Meirelles and Carol Cabral, and together they founded a pop-rock band initially named Collecting Dreams, that was later renamed Lágrima Flor, a tribute to her grandfather's renowned bossa nova hit. As lead singer and co-songwriter, Lua's experience in the band helped her define her musical identity and voice, and the five years in which she performed and created with André and the rest of the band were the most artistically defining of her early career.
Theatre, television and film (2008–2010)
Blanco took courses to improve her talents: singing lessons with Professor Carol Savoy; Theatrical Interpretation at Casa de Cultura with Laura Alvim, with Daniel Herz (2008–2009); Diving Theatre, the CAL course with Isaac Bernat, Claudia Melle and Renata Frisina (2009); Interpretation Workshop with Walter Lima to Cinema (2009); training workshop for Rebelde on TV Record, with Roberto Bomtempo (2010); and workshopping with the casting director Sergio Penna (2013). Blanco began acting in 2008; her first stage role was Isolde in Romeu e Isolda. That same year, she appeared in the Rede Globo telenovela Três Irmãs (Three Sisters), playing surfer Bia.
Success in Rebelde (2011–2013)
Blanco became known for playing Roberta Messi, one of the protagonists on the Brazilian version of the telenovela Rebelde (Rebel ). Written by Margareth Boury and directed by Ivan Zettel, it was inspired by the eponymous Mexican telenovela by Pedro Damián. Auditions lasted four months and in late 2010, Blanco was chosen as one of the finalists. She completed a series of tests including acting, dancing, and singing to play the rebellious character Roberta. Rebelde portrayed the everyday life of young people living at a prestigious boarding school, facing typical teenage drama beyond the main storyline, such as alcoholism, bullying, eating disorders, and family problems. The telenovela premiered on March 21, 2011, and completed its final episode on October 12, 2012; the series was divided into two seasons and was broadcast in 410 episodes.
2013 onwards
At the beginning of 2013, Blanco recorded a duet with singer João Teles of Pietros for "Todo Dia" (Every Day), released in April, and appeared in the music video. She made another duet with Rodrigo Fragoso, "Tudo Vai Mudar" (Everything Will Change). In 2013, Blanco returned to the theater in the role of Anne, a protagonist of the comedy Stand Up with Matheus Souza, who directed and wrote the play. The show was successful and extended. In the same year, she participated in the musical As Coisas Que Fizemos e Não Fizemos (The Things We Did and Did not Do) as Paula, where she worked with actress Giselle Batista and Matheus Souza (who wrote and directed the show).
Blanco died from intestinal cancer on October 18, 2026 in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 39.
