Famous people who grew up or lived in Brazil

Ayrton Senna1960–1984

📍 Rua Condessa Siciliano 528, Jardim São Paulo, São Paulo 02040-001, Brazil

I grew up in the Santana neighbourhood of São Paulo, in a comfortable upper-middle-class family — my father Milton was a successful businessman — and the contrast between my privileged…

Chico Mendes1944–1988

📍 Xapuri, Acre, Brazil

I was born in Xapuri in the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon in 1944, the son of rubber tappers, and I grew up learning the forest the way my father had learned it — as a home, a…

Gabriel Medina1993–2011

📍 Maresias, São Sebastião, SP, Brazil

Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira was born in December 1993 in São Sebastião, on the green, mountainous north coast of São Paulo state, and grew up in Maresias, a beach village where the…

Garrincha1933–1953

📍 Pau Grande, Magé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I was born Manuel Francisco dos Santos in October 1933 in Pau Grande, a small mill village in the green hills of Magé, north of Rio de Janeiro, built around the cotton textile factory of…

Getúlio Vargas1882–1954

📍 Sao Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

I was born Getúlio Dornelles Vargas on the 19th of April 1882 in São Borja, a town on the Uruguay River in the far south of Brazil, in the gaucho country of Rio Grande do Sul. The frontier…

Italo Ferreira1994–2012

📍 Baía Formosa, RN, Brazil

Italo Ferreira was born in May 1994 in Baía Formosa, a small fishing village on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, in north-eastern Brazil, with a crescent bay, sand dunes and a point break…

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva1945–1956

📍 Ipiranga, São Paulo, Brazil

Luiz Inácio da Silva was born in October 1945 in Caetés, then part of Garanhuns, in the poor interior of Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil, the seventh of eight children of farm workers…

Marta1986–2000

📍 Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil

Marta Vieira da Silva was born in February 1986 in Dois Riachos, a small, dusty town in the dry interior of Alagoas, in north-eastern Brazil, the youngest of four children. Her father left…

Max Cavalera1969–1989

📍 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Massimiliano Antonio Cavalera was born in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, in August 1969, the son of an Italian father, Graziano Cavalera, who worked for the Italian…

Maya Gabeira1987–2004

📍 Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Maya Gabeira was born in Rio de Janeiro in April 1987 and grew up in Ipanema, the famous beach neighbourhood between the lagoon and the Atlantic, with the Two Brothers mountains at the end…

Neymar1992–2009

📍 São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born in February 1992 in Mogi das Cruzes, in the state of São Paulo, the son of Neymar Santos, a journeyman professional striker whose career kept the…

Pelé1940–1956

📍 Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil

I was born in Três Corações but grew up in Bauru in the interior of São Paulo state, where my father Dondinho played football for the local club and where I learned the game on the red dust…

Ronaldinho1980–1998

📍 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, known as Ronaldinho, was born in Porto Alegre, in the far south of Brazil, in March 1980 and grew up in Vila Nova, a modest neighbourhood on the city's southern…

Ronaldo Nazário1976–1993

📍 Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born in Rio de Janeiro in September 1976 and grew up in Bento Ribeiro, a working-class suburb in the city's North Zone, far from the beaches, with small…

Zico1953–1971

📍 Quintino Bocaiuva, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, known as Zico, was born in Rio de Janeiro in March 1953 and grew up in Quintino Bocaiúva, a lower-middle-class suburb in the city's North Zone, the youngest of six…