Silva was born
Maria Amália Feijó in
Pelotas,
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on April 5, 1916. Her acting career only began in earnest in 1939 when she took a job at
Rádio Cultura in Pelotas. She worked at the station, as well as others, in various capacities, until she moved to São Paulo, where she joined
Radio Tupi. She also worked on
Rádio Record with
Janete Clair. The two wrote programs aimed at a female audience. Silva's career switched to the newly popular medium of television during the 1950s. She began acting in
soap operas and
telenovelas during the decade, including
A Próxima Atração,
Ossos do Barão,
Sinal de Alerta, as well as the miniseries
O Primo Basílio. She also founded her own
theater company in Rio Grande do Sul during the 1960s. Silva hit a career highlight when she joined the popular Brazilian telenovela
Mulheres Apaixonadas in 2003. She played an elderly character, Flora de Souza Duarte, while Brazilian actor
Oswaldo Louzada portrayed her husband, Leopoldo Duarte, on the soap opera. Their characters often suffered ill treatment at the hands of their granddaughter, Dóris, who was played by actress
Regiane Alves. Carmen Silva last acting role was the in 2007 film,
Valsa para Bruno Stein (
Waltz for Bruno Stein), which was shown at the 2007
Festival de Gramado film festival. Carmen Silva died of
multiple organ dysfunction syndrome at the Hospital Mãe de Deus in age of 92 in
Porto Alegre, Brazil, on April 21, 2008. She had been hospitalized since April 1, 2008, for treatment of her illness. Silva was buried at the Irmandade Arcanjo São Miguel e Almas cemetery in Porto Alegre. Sadly, Oswaldo Louzada, who played her television husband on
Mulheres Apaixonadas, also died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, the same disease that afflicted Silva on February 22, 2008. ==Filmography==