Chica Xavier

EARLY LIFE

Francisca Xavier Queiroz de Jesus, professionally known as Chica Xavier, was born on January 22, 1932, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, into a modest family deeply rooted in Afro-Brazilian culture. Raised by a single mother in a household shaped by the vibrant traditions of Bahia, she experienced an early immersion in the rituals and spiritual practices of Candomblé. Her formal education was limited, though she excelled in declaiming poems and writing. To support her family, she began working at the age of 14 as an apprentice bookbinder at the Official Press of the State of Bahia. In 1953, at the age of 21, Chica Xavier relocated from Salvador, Bahia, to Rio de Janeiro in pursuit of theater opportunities, facilitated by her godfather Anísio Teixeira. Upon arriving in Rio, Xavier enrolled in formal theater studies under the guidance of Paschoal Carlos Magno.

CAREER

Chica Xavier made her professional theater debut on September 25, 1956, at the Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro in Vinícius de Moraes's Orfeu da Conceição, where she portrayed the Dama Negra. She debuted in film in 1962 with Assalto ao Trem Pagador. Her television career spanned from her debut in the 1973 Rede Globo telenovela Os Ossos do Barão to over 50 roles across telenovelas and miniseries. Notable performances include Virgínia (Bá) in Sinhá Moça (1986), Inácia in Renascer (1993), Rosália in Força de um Desejo (1999), and Setembrina in Duas Caras (2007–2008). Xavier also extended her artistic influence into music and literature, publishing 'Chica Xavier canta sua prosa: Cantigas, louvações e rezas para os orixás' in 1999. Her final major television appearance was in the 2012 Globo novela Cheias de Charme. In 1978, she starred in Black Goddess (A Deusa Negra), a historical drama written and directed by pioneering Nigerian filmmaker Ola Balogun. The film was a rare, groundbreaking co-production between Nigeria and Brazil. It tells the story of a contemporary Nigerian man traveling to Brazil to fulfill a promise to his dying grandfather to trace their family's ancestral roots back to 18th-century Yorubaland.

PERSONAL LIFE

Chica Xavier married actor Clementino Kelé on July 7, 1956, and their union lasted 64 years until her death in 2020. They had three children: Clementino Filho, Izabela d'Oxóssi, and Christina Xavier. Xavier maintained a profound connection to Candomblé throughout her life, having been born in the Roça da Sabina terreiro in Salvador, Bahia. She became an initiated ialorixá (high priestess) and around 1980, founded and led the Irmandade do Cercado de Boiadeiro, an Umbanda terreiro in Sepetiba. She was also involved in advocacy for Afro-Brazilian rights and the preservation of cultural traditions.