Carmen Miranda (Feb. 9, 1909 - Aug. 5, 1955)

Source: Fox Studios, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, better known as Carmen Miranda, is one of the best-known Brazilians in the world. (Many Brazilians spell her first name ending in M, which is more in keeping with Portuguese spelling conventions.) Along with nicknames overseas like “The Brazilian Bombshell,” Miranda was known within Brazil as “A Pequena Notável” (“The Notable Little One”), as she was only 5 feet tall.

Despite significant debate about stereotypes, Carmen Miranda is decidedly an icon of a certain time and place. From “Identidade Brasileira na Moda - As roupas dos Anos 40 e os fatos mais marcantes da década” (“Brazilian Identity in Fashion - The clothes of the 1940s and that decade’s most notable facts”):

The 1940s bring the apogee of Hollywood and Carmen Miranda, as one of the milestones of that period. With her came the rise of the first genuinely Brazilian costume, created by Alceu Pena: the woman from Bahia known as the baiana.

Carmen Miranda was a hit in Brazil and in the United States, disseminating Latin American culture. She was the first Brazilian to launch styles, even in the US – the “Miranda look” which was adapted and used on the street. Even today many stylists look to it for inspiration.