Biography

Although she doesn't like to act in front of a live audience, Rita Blanco performed in several theater plays, such as Perversions by David Mamet, directed by Miguel Guilherme and José Pedro Gomes; Before the Night Comes by Eduarda Dionísio, featuring Adriano Luz; Blood on the Cat's Neck by Fassbinder, starring Luís Miguel Cintra. In 1989, she participated in How Different Love Is in Portugal, an adaptation of Júlio Dantas' work, directed by Fernando Gomes. Nothing from Nobody by Luísa Costa Gomes, staged by Ana Tamen, earned her a nomination for the Garrett Award for Best Female Performance (1991). In 1997, she took part in Peter Pan by James Barrie, directed by António Pires at the São Luiz Theatre. Moonlight Confessions by Eugene O'Neill (1994), Seven Lives by Rosa Lobato de Faria (2002), Seven Years - written particularly for her - (2003), Miserere by Luis Miguel Cintra (2010), Pais & Filhos by Pedro Penim (2021), A Farsa de Inês Pereira by Pedro Penim (2023).

Has a stepson named Francisco Nascimento.

Rita is known for being an animal lover and often talks about the importance of animal rights. At the present time, she has 5 dogs and 2 cats. A few years ago, she decided to start eating plant-based food after watching Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014) and Seaspiracy (2021). She also stopped drinking coffee and wine.

Besides acting, Rita also hosted a few TV shows like "Caça ao Tesouro" (1994), O senhor que se segue (1994) e Partir o côco (1994). From 1994 to 1997 she was a commentator on A Noite Da Má Língua, criticizing and making fun of several portuguese politicians.

In 1991, Rita was nominated for the Garrett Award for best female performance in theater for the play Nunca Nada de Ninguém (Ana Tamen).

What I like to see in an actor, beyond the characters he play, is to know what he eats, what books he reads and what his lifestyle is like. Of course, we don't really know, but we somehow sense it in the way they work, in the choices they make. The more an actor thinks about life, the more films he watches, the more art he sees, the more music he listens to, the more he has to give to people, even in suffering.

I do soap operas with great pleasure. However, doing soap operas constantly impoverishes me as an actress. I also like doing theater plays and shooting movies. When I'm working on a soap opera, I do my best, I have fun and there are times when I'm really good at it. Now, it's a very difficult job and one that you can't do constantly.

I think I'm an actress because I'm a well-read person. All the 'baggage' I use to create my characters, I drew from books. Way more than from people I've met in the past.

I'd like to be a better actress and that everything I make would have a touch of magic.

Before the premiere of a theater play, I go through an inner struggle, with constant trips to the bathroom, sweaty hands, which I really don't appreciate, because I'm not fond of doing theater at all. I only like doing a theater play when I can tell people are enjoying it, but that moment is fleeting.