9 February: Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda was born on this date in 1909. Here are ten things you might not have known about her:

1. She was born in Portugal, but her family emigrated to Brazil in 1910. She remained a Portuguese national, even though she never went back there.
2. Her father was an Opera fan, so he named his daughter after Bizet's opera.
3. As a teenager, Carmen worked in a tie shop and also in a boutique, where she learned to make hats, and had her own hat making business for a while.
4. She left Brazil for New York the day before WWII broke out.
5. Carmen Miranda made a total of fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. Her first was Down Argentine Way.
6. In 1941, Carmen Miranda became the first Latin American star to be invited to imprint her hands and feet in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, in 1941. She was also the first South American to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
7. In 1945, she was the highest paid woman in the USA.
8. In 1947, Carmen decided to produce her own film. It was called Copacabana and she played opposite Groucho Marx.
9. She married the brother of one of this film's investors who'd been sent to keep an eye on the investment. The marriage only lasted only a few months, but Carmen would not divorce him because she was a Catholic. Her family disliked him, believing he was violent and rude, and only after her money.
10. After her death, her belongings were donated by her husband and family for the creation of Carmen Miranda Museum in Rio, which opened on 5 August 1976. She is buried in São João Batista Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro.