Protagonist of ‘Malhação’, Daniela Carvalho worked as a cleaning lady after leaving TV

Out of television for over a decade, Daniela Carvalho, who gave life to the protagonist Catarina in Malhação (2010), had her trajectory completely transformed after she decided to leave Brazil.

At 38, the actress currently lives in Canada, alongside her partner, Colombian Juan Diaz, and two young children. Prior to that, however, he faced challenging phases – giving work as a cleaning lady to fund his studies during an exchange in Europe.

The turn in Daniela’s life began in 2019, after his participation in the soap opera “Pride and Passion”. She boarded for Ireland, where she spent eight months studying English and working. To maintain the livelihood, he acted as a cleaning lady, an experience he even shared on videos on social networks and his YouTube channel.

“When we are not afraid of work, go to and resolve. I lived in Ireland because the country allows to study and work at the same time. I wanted to invest in my artistic career,” he told an interview with O Globo in 2020.

But not everyone understood their decision. The actress says she received trial messages on social networks. “‘My God! She is cleaning. Is she starving?’ Or ‘poor thing, I hope she gets together!’ “He recalled. “This is the reality of those who leave the country without financial reserve. A lot of people have prejudice, but it is a decent and very difficult job.”

The season as Catarina in Malhação marked the career of the actress. Climbing after participating in a painting from Huck’s Cauldron, she lived the girl who fell in love with Pedro (Bruno Gissoni), in a plot that addressed social differences between the two characters.

After passing through Ireland, Daniela went to Colombia, and later moved to the United States. There he started a film course and even worked as a bartender. Shortly thereafter, she found out she was pregnant. “At first it was a fright. But son is a blessing. I’m an artist, woman, and I will adapt as I always adapted,” he said.

Seven months pregnant, he returned to Brazil with his boyfriend to pick up his dogs and decided to stay inside São Paulo to have his daughter next to his mother. “It was a right decision. We would end up arrested on the border because of the pandemic,” he recalled, referring to the closure of borders during the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, living in Canada, Daniela shares her family routine on social networks, away from television spotlight. “I’ve always been in favor of living experiences that turn us to better humans. I never abandoned art, just lived it in different ways,” he said.