Fernanda Torres has recently spoken about the close bond she shares with her famous actress mother, Fernanda Montenegro. Referred to as "The Fernandas," in Brazil, the talented mother-daughter duo share winning genes with Torres being nominated for Best Actress for the 2025 Oscar's this Sunday.
In the 1998 drama Central Station, Montenegro made history as the first Brazilian to ever be nominated for an Academy. Over two decades later, the actress's daughter Torres has become the second with I'm Still Here. The film has been described as a scorching 'generational epic', directed by Salles.
The Fernandas are part of a historic short list of Oscar-nominated mother-daughters duo. The list includes Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli; Diane Ladd and Laura Dern; Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis; Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson; as well as Ingrid Bergman and Conclave’s Best Supporting Actress nominee, Isabella Rossellini.
When asked what the most significant thing Fernanda (the daughter) has learned from her mother, Torres answered it was "to be an independent artist". She went on to explaining, saying: "Choose your own material, chase your own material and decide what you’re going to do next. Do not wait".
Torres also shared how she holds a single phrase of her mothers close to heart. Partly used as her second book's title, Montenegro often would say: "Nanda! It’s glory, and its litany of horrors!". Torres reportedly laughed whilst saying how much she loved the "juxtaposition" and that it currently defines this moment [in her life]".
Torres told ELLE her nomination was "a fairy tale. In Brazil, there is this sense that my mother and I are a continuation of something; two talents that endure in time. So it’s pretty magical". The film, also nominated for Best Picture and Best International Feature, has Torres playing a Eunice Paiva, a mother of five in the 1970s Brazil whose life changes after the dictatorship at the time suddenly claims her loving husband, Rubens (Selton Mello).
The film includes a short appearance from Montenegro, who shares the part with her daughter for a moment as a senior Eunice. The film has struck hearts particularly because of its relatability and its strong themes of matriarchy, feminine strength and unconditional familial bonds. On the film, Torres said: "They are just a normal family. You can relate to Eunice because the idea of a mother is a very [ageless] thing. [You] can relate to the kids and to the absence of the father [also]. The family touches pretty much [everyone]".
On the tragedy of her character's suffering, Torres said that the reinvention of Eunice is a "beautiful thing" as "the violence her family was a victim of is what minorities suffer every day. And so she becomes a human rights lawyer. She is, in a way, Brazil. The history of Eunice is the history of our country".
For the category for Best actress, Torres is up against British actor Cynthia Erivo for her lead role as Elphaba in Wicked; Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez; Mikey Madison from Anora; and Demi Moore in The Substance.
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