Biography

Didn't know who Wagner Moura was before working with him in O Agente Secreto.

She is craftswoman and a retired seamstress.

Tânia Maria appears in ten scenes in Bacurau. In her most memorable moment, the directors asked her to say whatever came to mind when Lunga (Silvero Pereira) entered - the improvised line became a hit and added a brief touch of comedy to an otherwise tense sequence. She keeps only one small frustration from the experience: a scene in which she and Sônia Braga exchanged slaps was ultimately left out of the final cut.

During the filming of Carmelita's funeral scene in Bacurau, the director instructed Tânia Maria to "enter serious." She misheard it as "enter blind" and walked into the scene with her eyes closed - going straight into a camera. Kleber Mendonça Filho burst into laughter along with the crew, asking, "What are you doing?" Tânia feared she had broken the equipment and would have to pay for it, but the camera was unharmed. Fortunately, since she used her paycheck to catch up on overdue bills.

In Seu Cavalcanti, Tânia Maria plays a woman who had a daughter with a married man - a storyline that closely mirrors her own life. She also raised her daughter alone, and the father's name does not appear on the birth certificate, making the role especially personal for her.