He was 70 years old
Actress Estrela Novais has died, confirmed CNN Portugal (from the same TVI group) along with actor Ricardo Castro, who had shared the news on Instagram.
“She was a fighting woman, who left on March 8, Women’s Day, which she loved because she always fought for women’s rights,” she stated.
According to the actor, Estrela Novais had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and was preparing to start treatment.
“She died in her sleep. She had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and could no longer speak, but she was excited. She was a young woman, with a fabulous sense of humor, with an incredible backbone,” he added.
Estrela Novais, 70 years old – she would have turned 71 on March 13th – participated in several TVI soap operas (from the same group as CNN Portugal), her last appearance being in “Queridos Papás”, which ended on March 2nd and where he gave life to Sofia.
Ricardo Castro also remembers that Estrela Novais was his Dramatic Expression teacher at the D. Pedro V school, where he still continued to teach, and encouraged many people to pursue careers in the arts.
“She was my Dramatic Expression teacher at the D. Pedro V school. She graduated from the Rome conservatory. She did a lot of cinema. She was a stunningly beautiful woman. She was president of the Actors’ Union. She was a fighting woman. She is the mother of many people If I’m an actor, I owe a lot to her. She helped me believe it was possible”, recalled the actor.
Estrela Novais was born on March 13, 1953, in Porto, she made her debut as a professional actress in 1970, with “Bodas de Sangue”, by Garcia Lorca, in a production by Carlos Cabral for the Teatro Experimental do Porto, and in 1973 she participated in the founding of Seiva Troupe.
According to the profile available in the database of the Theater Studies Center of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, she received a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, between 1979 and 1982, attending, in Rome, the acting course at the Silvio d’Academy. ‘Amico, interning with Orazio Costa, Giorgio Strehler, Ronconi, Dario Fo and Vittorio Grassman.
She also participated in several Portuguese series and soap operas, having received several awards, namely Best Theater Actress (1984), awarded by Mulheres magazine, and Best Film Actress (1986) awarded by Nova Gente magazine.