Norma Aparecida Almeida Pinto Guimarães d'Áurea Bengell (21 February 1935 – 9 October 2013) was a Brazilian film, stage and television actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. She appeared in several episodes of '' T.H.E. Cat'', the first being in 1966 episode “To Kill a Priest”.

Biography

Bengell was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was the daughter of Christian Friedrich Bengel, a Belgian-born German piano tuner, and Maria da Glória Guimarães, a wealthy young Brazilian woman from the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Around the age of 10, her parents separated. Being rebellious, Norma was interned in a college of nuns. After a difficult time, she began working in the early 1950s, first as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and then as a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

star, where she developed her singing career.

Career

Bengell was active in the film industry from 1959. She appeared in numerous international productions, including an extended period during the mid-1960s co-starring in Italian productions, in which she was usually cast as the protagonist's romantic interest. She is possibly best known for starring with

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...

in Alberto Lattuada's '' Mafioso'' (1962) and in

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

's '' The Hellbenders'' (1967). She had a major role as a prostitute in Anselmo Duarte's ''

Keeper of Promises ''O Pagador de Promessas'' (, ''Keeper of Promises''The title translates literally as ''The Payer of Promises'', but the film has been known by several other names in the English-speaking world, such as ''Keeper of Promises'', ''The Given Word'' a ...

'' (1962), a Brazilian drama that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963 and won the

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in 1962. Earlier that same year, she caused major controversy after appearing nude in a scene of the

Ruy Guerra Ruy Alexandre Guerra Coelho Pereira (born August 22, 1931) is a Portuguese-Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Guerra was born a Portuguese citizen in Lourenço Marques (today Maputo) in Mozambique, when it was still a Portuguese colony. ...

film ''

Os Cafajestes ''The Unscrupulous Ones'' ( pt, Os Cafajestes) is a 1962 Brazilian crime film directed by Ruy Guerra. It was entered into the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Jece Valadão - Jandir * Norma Bengell - Leda * Daniel Filho - Vav� ...

''. In 1987, she directed her first film, '' Eternamente Pagu'', a biography of Patrícia Galvão. In 1996, she directed an adaptation of José de Alencar's novel ''

The Guarani ''The Guarani: Brazilian Romance'' ( pt, O Guarani: Romance Brasileiro) is a 1857 Brazilian novel written by José de Alencar. It was first serialized in the newspaper ''Diário do Rio de Janeiro'', but due to its enormous success Alencar decided ...

'', also titled ''The Guarani''.

Death

She died from lung cancer aged 78 in Rio de Janeiro on 9 October 2013.

References

External links

* 1935 births 2013 deaths Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian film actresses Brazilian television actresses Brazilian women film directors Brazilian film directors Deaths from lung cancer in Brazil {{Brazil-actor-stub