Laura Cardoso, one of Brazil's most beloved and prolific actresses, passed away on Monday night at her home in the Sumaré neighbourhood of São Paulo. She was 98. Her daughter, Fátima Cardoso, told the Brazilian news outlet G1 that the actress felt unwell and died before medical help could arrive.
The family confirmed the death on Cardoso's official Instagram account, writing: "Our great star has said goodbye to us. Laura Cardoso will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for everything, our beloved and eternal Laura Cardoso."
Born in 1927, Cardoso began her career at just 15, performing in radio soap operas on Rádio Cosmos. She made the leap to television in 1952 with the programme "Tribunal do Coração" on TV Tupi, and over the following decades she became a fixture of Brazilian drama, appearing in more than 60 telenovelas—a record for any actress in the country.
In 1981, she joined TV Globo, where she starred in over 20 productions, including Caminho das Índias, Gabriela, Chocolate com Pimenta, Império, and O Outro Lado do Paraíso. Her final television role came in 2019, in the telenovela A Dona do Pedaço, which was also broadcast in Portugal by SIC.
A career of honours and a final project
Cardoso's eight-decade career earned her numerous accolades, including five trophies from the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte (APCA) and the Oscarito Award at the Gramado Festival for her contribution to Brazilian cinema. In 2006, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva awarded her the Order of Cultural Merit, one of Brazil's highest cultural distinctions.
Her last project was the short film Dona Rosinha, released in 2025, which explores the abandonment of elderly people—a theme that resonated with her own long life and career.
Cardoso's death marks the end of an era for Brazilian television, but her legacy will endure through the countless characters she brought to life. For European audiences who discovered Brazilian telenovelas through international broadcasts, her performances offered a window into the emotional depth and cultural richness of Brazilian storytelling.
As tributes pour in from colleagues and fans across the continent, her family has asked for privacy during this difficult time.
