From Hailey Bieber to Mia Goth, see famous gringos who have a foot in Brazil

Among well-known faces and others that are now emerging on the international art scene, there are always those celebrities that the public loves to follow. But the biggest surprise comes when Brazilians discover that artists have a close connection with Brazil.

Actress Mia Goth, for example, recently went viral in a video in which she affectionately called “my grandma” actress Maria Gladys, who is well known here for her participation in movies and soap operas. Hailey Bieber is another who has appeared alongside her Brazilian grandmother and said she is very proud of her roots.

But they are not the only ones. Check below who are the international stars who have Brazilian parents or grandparents — or even were born here.

ALFRED ENOCH

Best known for participating in the series “How To Get Away With a Murder”, alongside Viola Davis, the actor is the son of English actor William Russell and Brazilian Etheline Margareth. As a child, Alfred acted in seven of the eight films in the “Harry Potter” franchise, playing the character Dino from 2001 to 2011. More recently, the actor, who speaks fluent Portuguese, acted alongside Lázaro Ramos and Taís Araújo in the film “Medida Provisional” (2022) and has already been seen on vacation in Rio de Janeiro.

BARBIE FERREIRA

Born Bárbara Linhares Ferreira, 26, Kat from the series “Euphoria”, was born and raised in Queens, New York, but was raised by her mother and grandmother, both Brazilian. She has already posted a video on social networks speaking Portuguese and visited the country in February this year. “My mother immigrated to the United States with her family two years before I was born. We came from nothing, and she worked hard to give me everything I wanted,” she says. In 2016, she was named by Time magazine as one of the 30 Most Influential Teens of the Year.

CAMILA MENDES

Another famous Hollywood actress who is one of Brazil’s representatives abroad is Camila Mendes, 28. She was born in Virginia, but her mother is from Rio Grande do Sul and her father is from Brasília. She has already lived in the federal capital for a year. Camila always takes risks in the language and has already given interviews in Portuguese for Brazilian vehicles. Her first big acting job was in “Riverdale,” opposite Lily Reinhart and Cole Sprouse. On social networks, the artist always demonstrates her connection with Brazil and the pride she feels in her origins —especially in the “Brazilian butt”.

CRISTIANA REALI

Born in São Paulo, but based in France, where she has lived since childhood, Cristiana has an extensive career in theaters and cinemas in the European country. She is the daughter of journalist and broadcaster Reali Junior, who went to the French capital to be a correspondent, and has already been a poster girl for the cosmetics brand Lancôme. She says that, in her childhood, her home was an “unofficial embassy” due to the constant visits of Brazilians.

HAILEY BIEBER

A close friend of the Kardashian family, wife of one of the most pop singers in the world and heir to the Baldwin family, the model’s origins in Brazil go back to Minas Gerais, where her mother was born, and also to Rio de Janeiro, where her grandfather, the pianist and music producer Eumir Deodato made a career in the business. She has already been seen taking her beloved, Justin Bieber, to Brazilian restaurants. Even though she doesn’t speak fluent Portuguese, Hailey told The Late Late Show host that she has a phase memorized in her head: “Shut up and kiss me.” She has also shown her maternal family’s cheese bread recipe to her YouTube channel’s followers.

JORDANA BREWSTER

The “Fast and Furious” actress is half Brazilian and half American, and lived in Rio de Janeiro from age six to ten. She has already said that it was difficult to adapt to the American culture after living in Brazil and that, even today, she has the habit of greeting people with the very Brazilian kiss on the cheek.

JULIA GOLDANI TELLES

The actress with an upward trajectory in Hollywood has a Brazilian mother and has also lived in the country. She says that, in her childhood, she spent vacations at a farm in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul and helped take care of cows and chickens there. She already had residency in Campinas and Rio de Janeiro, before moving with her parents to Los Angeles.

KAYA SCODELARRIO

“I grew up watching soap operas and eating rice and beans”. This is how the British woman tells about the multicultural home she lived in. Daughter of an English father and a Brazilian mother, the actress, who began her career in the teen drama series “Skins”, makes a point of speaking in Portuguese when she can — and has already said that she is open to acting in a soap opera here in the country.

LINO FACIOLI

The actor was born in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo, but it was in England that he started his career, since he has lived there since he was 4 years old. At 22, he has already joined the cast of series like “Game of Thrones” and “Sex Education”.

MIA GOTH

A familiar face of cinematographic horror from international films, the surname “da Silva” conveys the ancestry of the 29-year-old British woman. The sympathy for the arts started early, since Mia’s grandmother is the Brazilian actress Maria Gladys. She even always claims that her “grandma” is a great source of career inspiration. “She has an amazing life, has been through a lot, and has always encouraged me to expand my universe to the fullest. I think she’s amazing,” she said.

MORENA BACCARIN

She settled in New York with her family at the age of seven, and it was there that she kicked off the audiovisual world. Morena has participated in important productions such as “Gotham”, “Deadpool”, “How I Met Yor Mother”, “The OC” and “Homeland” —for the latter, she was nominated for an Emmy for best supporting actress in 2022. In an interview to the New York Times, the artist said that she loves to cook Brazilian food, like coxinha and moqueca for her children. “If I bring this home and my kids don’t like it, I’m going to kill them all,” she said.