Alexandra Lencastre
- Actress
Alexandra Lencastre was born in Lisbon, in 1965. She's one of the most
talented and most popular Portuguese actresses. As a Philosophy
student, became interested in the experience of a theatre group from
the University. She left Philosophy and began her acting studies at the
Theater School (Conservatório), in Lisbon. It was with the play 'Frei
Luís de Sousa', directed by Jorge Listopad, that her acting career
really began, winning an award for best revelation. Since then, she
worked with some of the main directors of the Portuguese theater,
including Carlos Avilez, João Lourenço and José Wallenstein. She began
working in television, on the Portuguese version of 'Sesame Street'.
Later, in television, both in fiction (including some very popular
telenovelas) and entertainment features (such as the polemic interviews
of 'In Bed With..'), she became a star for Portuguese audiences. Since
1990, with Lovely Child (1990), by João Canijo, her film career developed, working
with directors like João Botelho, João Mário Grilo and Teresa
Villaverde. Her most important success, both with audiences and critic,
is O Delfim (2002), directed by Fernando Lopes. In the same year, she worked
with Javier Bardem in The Dancer Upstairs (2002), directed by John Malkovich. In 2003, she
was again a great success in TV, with Ana e os Sete, Portuguese version
of a Spanish series. With Rogério Samora, in O Delfim, Alexandra
Lencastre defined a new pair for the Portuguese cinema; they met again
in Lá Fora (2004), also directed by Fernando Lopes.