Tânia Maria becomes Brazil’s surprise film star after brief turn in The Secret Agent

Tânia Maria de Medeiros Filha, a 79-year-old former rug weaver, has become a new film icon in Brazil after an 11-minute, show-stealing performance as Mrs. Sebastiana in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film The Secret Agent, the country’s latest Oscar contender.

Ms. Medeiros Filha had only a few screen credits and did not set foot on a film set until a few years ago, but her modest, charismatic portrayal — clad in florals and puffing on a cigarette as the housemother who shelters political refugees in 1970s Recife — has drawn praise from international critics, front-page headlines and more than 100,000 social media followers in months.

Kleber Mendonça Filho first noticed her when she worked as an extra in 2018 and said, “She was supposed to be an extra in the film,” later giving her a larger part and writing The Secret Agent’s role with her in mind. Critics have singled out her performance — Variety highlighted her in a pre-Oscar roundup, and The New York Times listed her few minutes onscreen as the “best cigarette acting” of 2025 — and the film has won two Golden Globes, including best film in a foreign language and best actor in a motion picture drama.

The movie is now widely expected to earn an Oscar nomination on Thursday, and Tânia Maria, who is between takes on her next film and says she is trying to quit smoking, told fans, “I’m just getting started.”

Key Topics

Culture, Tânia Maria, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Wagner Moura, Recife, Golden Globes