Tânia was born on January 19, 1947, in the village of Santo Antônio da Cobra, located in the rural area of the city of
Parelhas, in the interior of the state of
Rio Grande do Norte. Tânia Maria devoted much of her life to crafts and sewing, making bathroom rugs from recycled materials and working as a seamstress. Before her film career, Tânia Maria had never watched an entire movie or gone to the movies, and her contact with television was also minimal. In an interview with journalist Rute Pina from
BBC News Brasil, she stated that her acting career began by chance: “I was sewing and heard some conversations in the dining room. When I arrived and said ‘good evening,’ she said, ‘she's just what I need,’ and asked me if I would be willing to be an extra. Earning
R$ 50 every day, I thought it was too good to be true." For her performance in the film, she was awarded by
The New York Times magazine in the category "Best Performance with a Cigarette," created exclusively to highlight Tânia's performance. For her performance in the latter, the actress was included in
The Hollywood Reporter magazine predictions as one of the possible nominees for the 2026
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as being praised by
Variety. She also participated in the fictional documentary
Seu Cavalcanti and
, the feature film
Yellow Cake and the short film
O Dilema das Rosas. Also starred in the series
Delegado, which premieres in 2026 on
Canal Brasil and features and
Virgínia Cavendish in the cast. == Personal life ==