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Carmen Miranda (b. February 9, 1909, Marco de
Canaveses, Portugal; d. August 5, 1955 Hollywood,
California from untreated toxemia and heart
failure stemming from pregnancy), born Maria do
Carmo Miranda Da Cunha, was a Portugal|Portuguese
- Brazil|Brazilian samba (music)|samba singer and
motion picture star.  

Miranda reached her peak point of fame in the
early 1940s.  She arrived in the United States in
1939 and had become the country's highest-paid
entertainer by 1943.  Her nickname, "The Brazilian
Bombshell", captured her true spirit and the heart
of her Latin culture.  Miranda's  Hollywood debut
was Down Argentine Way where she had the chance to
work with Betty Grable.  Her last Hollywood movie
was in 1953 in Scared Stiff with Jerry Lewis and
Dean Martin.  

Miranda was born in the small northern Portuguese
town of Marco de Canaveses and went to school at
the Convent of Saint Teresinha. Her very Catholic
parents did not approve of her dreams of pursuing
show business, so she hid it from them best she
could.  In her spare time, she often sang at
parties and festivals around the town where she
was discovered and received the chance to perform
on a local radio station.
  
She was noted as a musical innovator in Brazil,
one of the first samba superstars long before her
arrival in the US.  However, her roles in US
movies featured her as a stylized comic "South
American" singer and she was often shown wearing
platform sandals and towering headdresses made of
fruit, becoming known as "the lady in the
tutti-frutti hat."  At only 5'3"/160cm, these
accoutrements made her appear almost larger than
life on screen.  This image was much satirized and
taken up as camp, even in animated cartoon shorts.
 The animation department at Warner Brothers
seemed to be especially fond of the actress's
image.  Animator Virgil Ross used the image in
"Tropical Hare" with Bugs Bunny who, appropriately
enough, made his entrance as a stowaway in the
fruit hat.  Today, the "Carmen Miranda" persona is
a popular turn (or performance) for female
impersonation and drag queen|drag performance.  

She was well aware of the tensions in her career. 
Her song, "Bananas Is My Business," was based on a
line in one of her movies and directly addressed
her image.  A sour welcome back to Brazil in 1940
resulted in a response in Portuguese
language|Portuguese in a song called "Disseram Que
Eu Voltei Americanizada," or "They Say I've Become
Americanized."  Helena Solberg made a documentary
of her life, Carmen Miranda:  Bananas Is My
Business in 1995.

Carmen Miranda, who neither drank nor smoked, died
of a heart attack one day after an appearance on
Jimmy Durante|The Jimmy Durante Show.  Although
she was mildly addicted to prescription
medications, she did not use cocaine nor carry the
drug in her platform shoes as documented in the
controversial book, Hollywood Babylon|"Hollywood
Babylon". Her body was flown back to Brazil soon
afterwards and the government declared a period of
national mourning. She was interred in the
Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.

Her personal physician Dr. M. Barryman, who would
later sign her death certificate, was the father
of actor Michael Barryman.

==Hollywood tribute==


On September 25, 1998, a city square in Hollywood
was named Carmen Miranda Square in a ceremony
headed by longtime honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny
Grant who was also one of the singer's personal
friends dating back to World War II.  The effort
was spearheaded by Native American concert
promoter Jean Chakanaka and Carmen Miranda's
Brazilian-born grandniece, Cheryl Miranda Cunha,
herself a songwriter, singer and performer who
adopted the stage name "Miranda" and performs many
of her aunt's songs in tribute.  Brazil's consul
general Jorió Gama was on hand for opening
remarks as were members of Bando da Lua, Carmen
Miranda's original band.  

Carmen Miranda Square is only one of about a dozen
Los Angeles city intersections named for historic
performers.  The square is located at the
intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange
Drive across from Mann's Chinese Theater.  The
location is especially noteworthy not only since
Carmen Miranda's footprints are preserved in
concrete at the Chinese Theater's famous
collection, but in rememberance of an impromptu
performance at a nearby Hollywood Boulevard
intersection on V-J Day where she was joined by a
throng of servicemen from the nearby USO.

For her contribution to the motion picture
industry, Carmen Miranda has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Blvd. 

==Filmography==
*The Voice of the Carnival (1933)
*Hello, Hello, Brazil (1935)
*Students (1935)
*Hello, Hello, Carnival (1936)
*Bananas of the Land (1939)
*Orange of China (1940)
*Down Argentine Way (1940)
*That Night in Rio (1941)
*Meet the Stars: Hollywood Meets the Navy (1941)
(short subject)
*Week-End in Havana (1941)
*It's All True (1942) (documentary) (unfinished)
(voice only) (released in 1993)
*Springtime in the Rockies (1942)
*The Gang's All Here (1943)
*Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
*Greenwich Village (1944)
*Something for the Boys (1944)
*Doll Face (1945)
*The All-Star Bond Rally (1945) (short subject)
*If I'm Lucky (1946)
*Copacabana (1947)
*A Date with Judy (1948)
*Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
*Scared Stiff (1953)

==Reference==
*Tobar, Hector.  Los Angeles Times, September 26,
1998.  "City Squares Bring Lives Full Circle"    


==External link==
*imdb name|id=0000544|name=Carmen Miranda