Biografia
Raul Ruiz's critically acclaimed film "Mysteries of Lisbon" (2010) propelled Maria João Bastos onto the European and international cinema scene, leading to roles in Valeria Sarmiento's "Lines of Wellington" (2012) and Michael Sturminger's "The Casanova Variations" (2014), starring John Malkovich. However, Maria João Bastos had already established herself as one of the most celebrated and respected actresses in Portugal and Brazil long before these successes. She began her career in television in the late 1990s, starring in popular TV series, soap operas, and TV movies in Portugal. Invited by TV Globo, she moved to Brazil to star in internationally successful Brazilian soap operas. After living in Rio de Janeiro for five years, she returned to Portugal, continuing to feature in prestigious television productions such as the TV series "Equador" (2008), filmed across four continents, as well as "Sedução" (2010), "Destinos Cruzados" (2013), "O Bairro" (2014), "Três Mulheres" (2017–2022), "Crónica dos Bons Malandros" (2020), "A Espia" (2020), and "Da Mood" (2021), which was produced in Brazil. In cinema, Maria João worked with veteran directors like Ruy Guerra on "Veneno da Madrugada," Fernando Lopes on "Em Câmara Lenta," and Fernando Vendrell on "Sombras Brancas," alongside emerging talents such as André Badalo on "Shoot Me" and Artur Serra Araújo on "A Moral Conjugal." She ventured into streaming productions in 2019 with "The Mechanism," directed by José Padilha for Netflix, followed by "Motel Valkirias" (HBO), and in 2023 premiered "Turn of the Tide" on Netflix.
