Trivia

Is the first Brazilian actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award

Is considered the Great Dame of Brazilian Theatre.

After being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1999 at 69 years old, she turned down every part offered to her in non-Brazilian films.

Appeared in six films that were submitted to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category: Pecado Mortal (1970), Olga (2004), Hour of the Star (1985) - these three failed to get nominated - and the other three managed to get the nomination Four Days in September (1997), Central Station (1998) and I'm Still Here (2024).

Mother of actress Fernanda Torres and director Cláudio Torres.

Refused a Brazil's president invitation to be Minister of Culture in the middle of 80s. She answered she would be more useful to her country's country only acting.

One of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) main settings were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so fans created a petition to cast Montenegro as the President of the Magical Congress of Brazil that reached over 100,000 signatures. The actress responded that while she was very thankful she would not have time available to take part in the feature.

Her daughter Fernanda Torres is the first Brazilian actress to win the Golden Globe. 01/06/2025.

Did a live reading of Simone de Bouvier's work for over 15,000 people on Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo on August 18, 2024. At age 94, this was her biggest audience to date.

Second Brazilian actress to be nominated for a Golden Globe award. The first was Sonia Braga for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) in 1986. Wagner Moura was the third Brazilian actor to receive a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Narcos (2015) in 2016.

She is the daughter of Carmen Nieddu and Vitórino Pinheiro Esteves da Silva. Her maternal grandparents were from Sardinia, Italy.

She has become an 'immortal' of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. (03/25/2022).

Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres are the first mother and daughter duo nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars since Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.

She has two grandsons: Joaquim Torres Waddington and Davi.

In 1992 she won the medal of cultural merit from Portugal.

She won at least 10 awards for best actress in movies, novels and theater. This includes 5 Molières Prizes.

There's a theater room named after her in the Leblon Theater in Rio de Janeiro.

She was the first Brazilian actor/actress to receive an Oscar nomination (in 1999); and her daughter Fernanda Torres was the very second Brazilian actor/actress to grant a nomination (in 2025). They were both nominated in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category, and their films were nominated in the Best Foreign Language/Best International Feature category - Montenegro for Central Station (1998) and Torres for I'm Still Here (2024), respectively.

She and her daughter have been nominated for Academy Award of the best actress, with the same director, Walter Salles.

Won Grande Prêmio Cinema Brazil for best actress for her role in "O Outro Lado da Rua". With this role she also won the award for best actress in Tribeca Festival and in Audiovisual Festival.

In 1971 she won the medal of Ordem do Cruzeiro do Sul for good services for Brazilian culture.

Fernanda won Award Contigo! for best actress for her role in the soap "Belíssima" (2006).