Lélia Abramo

Who was Lélia Abramo?

Lélia Abramo was an Italian-Brazilian actress and political activist.

Daughter of Italian immigrants, Abramo was born and died in São Paulo, but lived in Italy from 1938 to 1950, suffering through the privations of World War II. Along with her brothers Cláudio Abramo and plastic artist Lívio Abramo she is part of one of the most prominent families in Brazilian history in both politics and the arts.

She participated in the early foundation of the Oposição de Esquerda no Brasil. Along with Mario Pedrosa, she has always been considered a sympathizer of trotskysm. Lélia Abramo was also a militant and was one of the founder of the Partido dos Trabalhadores along with Mario Pedrosa, Manuel da Conceição, Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Moacir Gadotti and Apolônio de Carvalho. She was personally active in many different movements in Brazilian politics like Diretas Já.

Abramo played in 27 telenovelas, fourteen films and twenty four plays, having acted with some of the great names of São Paulo theater, like Gianni Ratto and Gianfrancesco Guarnieri with whom she debuted on stage in the 1958 in Eles não Usam Black-Tie.