Leila Diniz

Biography

Leila Roque Diniz was a Brazilian actress born on March 25, 1945, in Niterói, Brazil. She initially trained as a teacher and worked in a kindergarten in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. At the age of seventeen, she married filmmaker Domingos de Oliveira, but the marriage lasted only three years. Diniz then transitioned to acting, beginning her career in theater before moving to television, where she became well-known for her roles in telenovelas on TV Globo. She later married Mozambican filmmaker Ruy Guerra, with whom she had a daughter named Janaína. Over her career, Diniz appeared in fourteen films, twelve telenovelas, and numerous theatrical productions. Tragically, she died in a plane crash on June 14, 1972, at the age of 27, while returning from a trip to Australia.