1983–1986: A beginning by chance at Rede Manchete Xuxa started a career in television through an offer to host a children's program,
Clube da Criança in the newly created
Rede Manchete which was the sixth broadcaster to have national reach in Brazil. In this period, she worked as a model during the week in
New York City and taped her show during the weekends in Rio de Janeiro. The program's reach gradually increased and she began to receive proposals from other broadcasters, until in 1986, she ended up accepting one made by
Rede Globo de Televisão to present a new children's program that would bear her name. It aired in the mornings from Monday to Saturday until its final episode on 31 December 1992, after some 2,000 episodes. Xuxa would usually enter on a pink ship, which awakened in the children the dream of flying beside her. Children from all over Brazil ran to have breakfast with the song "
Quem Qué Pão?" She would end the show with the famous "Xuxa kiss", where she would put on bright lipstick and kiss the children onstage with her and children in the audience on the cheek, leaving a mark. In addition to entertainment, she also aired positive messages to the public, such as "Want, Power and Reach!", "Believe in Dreams" and "Drugs do Bad". In Christmas 1986, Xuxa received her eighth platinum record, a prize awarded to every 250,000 copies sold. The album
Xou da Xuxa, from the record company
Som Livre, had sold more than 2.6 million copies, achieving by then the South American record for a single album. Xuxa sold more than Brazilian singer
Roberto Carlos that year. With the recorded songs, it left in tours by Brazil that were seen by millions of people. In 1987, the French newspaper
Libération included Xuxa in the list of 10 women of prominence on the planet, next to the
British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. In the same period, Xuxa began a relationship with the Brazilian
Formula 1 driver
Ayrton Senna, who died in 1994. In parallel to the
Xou da Xuxa, the presenter commanded
Bobeou Dançou, between 9 July and 31 December 1989, on Sunday afternoons of TV Globo. Initially created as
Xou of Xuxa frame, it was so successful that the station decided to launch it as an independent program aimed at the adolescent public. The
Bobeou Dançou was a program of rumba based on riddles with two teams formed by adolescents between 13 and 17 years disputed the first place of the competition. In 1990, the film
Lua de Cristal, Xuxa's biggest box office hit, sold 4,178 million tickets and ranked 21st in the ranking of most-watched national films from 1970 to 2011 according to Ancine (
Agência Nacional do Cinema). Xuxa accumulated the highest-grossing of
Brazilian cinema, with more than 37 million people watched her films. She was also chosen by the
International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences of the United States to deliver the
International Emmy Awards in the category of best children's program and present one of their songs in the awards party. In 1991, Xuxa appeared in 37th place for
Forbes among the 40 richest celebrities of that year, with a turnover of $19 million. Xuxa was the first Brazilian to join the list. The
Paradão da Xuxa emerged as an independent program after the success of the picture of the same name presented in
Xou of Xuxa. The program was aired between 25 April and 26 December 1992 on Saturday mornings of TV Globo, replacing
Xou of Xuxa on that day. The program was three hours long, and different singers and musical groups performed on the show. The musical selection went from the
samba to the rock, going through the
sertanejo music. On the last Saturday of each month,
Super Paradão (Vacation Specials) was shown, highlighting the most successful songs of the period.
1991–1993: International career After reaching success with her record sales in her home country, her popularity surpassed the Brazilian market and released her first Spanish-language album,
Xuxa 1, which performed well in the
Argentine market. Xuxa widened her appeal among Spanish-speaking audiences when she recorded an adapted version for Spanish-speaking markets of Xou da Xuxa, called
El Show de Xuxa. The
Los Angeles Times reported in 1992 that "more than 20 million Spanish- and
Portuguese-speaking children watched
El Show de Xuxa in 16 countries of Latin America every day, as well as
Univision in the
United States. The first two seasons of the show, were produced by main Argentine TV channel
Telefé while the third season, held in 1993, was produced independently in Buenos Aires and was sold to
El Trece. Her last Spanish speaking show aired in Latin America on 31 December 1993.
The New York Times highlighted her success in Brazil and Argentina in an article by correspondent
James Brooke. It also highlighted the record sales of albums of the singer, which in 1990 reached 12 million copies, and its success in the Hispanic market, where it reached 300,000 copies with their first album in Spanish. At the time, she was called by
New York magazine as "Latin American Madonna". In 1992, the
Los Angeles Times said that Xuxa was "probably better known to most Latin American pre-adolescents than Michael Jackson." In 1992, taping programs in Brazil and Argentina, Xuxa was invited to host the program
Xuxa Park in Spain. Released by
Telecinco channel, the game show was shown on Sundays, with high ratings, and lasted two years. Her
Xuxa Park album sold well for 8 weeks and was certified gold.
Billboard magazine published in September 1992, that the album
Xuxa 2 was at the top of the Spanish charts, and appeared in position 77 of the 100 most sold albums in the world. The biggest hits on this disc were:
Loquita Por Ti (#29 on the
billboard chart),
Luna de Cristal (#35 on the
billboard chart) and
Chindolele (#10 on the
billboard chart). The album reached the fifth position in the U.S.
Billboard Top Latin Albums of 1991. In 1992,
People magazine chose Xuxa as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. In 1993, Xuxa hosted an English-language series in the United States titled
Xuxa (which was produced by
MTM Enterprises). Broadcast by a pool of 100 stations and with an average of 3 million viewers per episode, significant numbers,
Xuxa lasted only one season on The Family Channel (renamed Freeform in 2018), remaining on the air between 1993 and 1996, including reruns. It was initially broadcast by 124 stations across the country. The shows were produced on Sound Stage 36 at CBS
Television City in Los Angeles. Sixty-five episodes were taped for the first season of the show. Taping of the episodes was done in a 5-week period in the summer of 1993. The shows were broadcast Monday through Friday, generally in the early morning or mid-afternoon. All 65 episodes were broadcast during the initial 13 weeks before there was a repeat. Helping Xuxa on the show were the Pixies (three U.S. "Paquitas" plus one Brazilian Paquita), the Mellizas (uncredited), Jelly, Jam, and ten "child wranglers" for 150 kids on the set. Starting in September 1994,
Xuxa began airing on
The Family Channel cable network, at 8:00 am ET/PT. They reprised original episodes on a new children's block until 19 February 1996 when Xuxa stopped airing on The Family Channel. The show was sold to other countries including
Japan,
Israel,
Russia,
Australia,
Romania and some Arab states. Her international ambitions apparently ended after the grueling taping schedule for her American show. She was hospitalized for several days due to exhaustion, and decided to give up her international career. In the U.S.,
Sony Wonder released two of her videos and a record that includes English translations of some of her most successful songs in Portuguese and Spanish.
1994–2000: Weekend shows After some serious health problems due to an overload of work, Xuxa decided to return to work exclusively in the Brazilian market. The presenter returned to her children's audience with
Xuxa Park, the Brazilian version of a project of the
same name that commanded in Spain. Some elements of the Xou da Xuxa remained, others were modified or completely removed, but still present. The program also directed by Marlene Mattos and gathered games, specials and musical attractions was exhibited between 4 June 1994 and 6 January 2001 on Saturday mornings of TV Globo. The show was canceled abruptly due to a
fire that occurred on 11 January 2001 in the recording of its
carnival special. The attraction came to an end on 28 July 2002, due to Xuxa's desire to return to children's television and the end of the partnership with director Marlene Mattos.
2001–2014: Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação and TV Xuxa As a mother, Xuxa noticed a shortage of videos for small children. In 2001, she designed the
Só Para Baixinhos audiovisual and the CD and DVD set. The album
Só Para Baixinhos 2 received worldwide recognition and won the 2002
Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Children's Album category. With the success of the Xuxa project for
Baixinhos, which was aimed at children 0–10 years old, the presenter had the desire to create a program in this educational mold, and on 28 October 2002 she debuted
Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação. The show was broadcast on Monday mornings of TV Globo, marking the return of the presenter the broad daily of the station after the end of
Xou da Xuxa. The attraction, about 40 minutes long, was divided into four blocks and had 32 frames displayed alternately throughout the week. Through computer graphics capabilities, Xuxa appeared seated on a globe with a blue background filled with white clouds, and featured 14 pictures that blended entertainment and didactic elements. After many reformulations to reverse the low audience, the program came to an end on 31 December 2004. In 2003, Xuxa was nominated again to Grammy for
Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 3, and took the second trophy in the same category. On 30 June 2003, she inaugurated an amusement park with her name.
Mundo de Xuxa, located in
São Paulo, in an area of 12,000 square meters, was the largest indoor amusement park in Latin America and has more than 18 attractions. The
Mundo do Xuxa is part of the group of 3 amusement parks that most invoice in Brazil, together the 3 parks made about R$220 million per year. In 2004, for the third consecutive time, she competed with the video
Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 4, in the same category. The 5th edition,
Xuxa Circus, became a huge-selling success and was transformed into a show that dragged crowds into theaters. In 2005, the
Xuxa Festa, promoted a remix of old hits. The project pleased both the children and the parents who grew up following her career. In 2012, Xuxa is again present in the
Latin Grammy as the only Brazilian in the Best Children's Album category, with
XSPB 11. This is already the fifth indication of the
Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos series. After successive audience defeats with
Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação, TV Globo reformulated again the attraction commanded by Xuxa that changed its name and age group and on 4 April 2005, it premiered
TV Xuxa. The program had two distinct phases and the first was broadcast on Monday morning to the children's audience in a mix of play, dramaturgy, competition, cartoons and musical numbers presentation. The name of the program was an allusion to the fictional
TV Xuxa, a television station with several attractions. After many changes for not being able to keep the station in the isolated leadership, the program no longer aired on 31 December 2007. With the success of XSPB, Xuxa released in Argentina, in 2005, the Xuxa audiovisual
Solamente para Bajitos. In parallel to
TV Xuxa, the presenter commanded
Conexão Xuxa between 2 December 2007 and 11 January 2008. The program had four teams formed by three people (one athlete, one personality and one teenager). Together, they faced various kinds of physical evidence and general knowledge in beautiful settings in the country. The program lasted three stages. The teams were divided by colors: yellow, green, blue and orange. The four teams disputed an X of gold, that was worth three points; an X of silver, worth two; or a bronze X, which was worth one point. In all, there were three stages, displayed in seven editions. The two winners of the first stage and the two winners of the second disputed the final of the program. Vencia the group that obtains more points throughout the competition.
TV Xuxa returned to TV Globo grid on 10 May 2008, totally refurbished, aimed at the whole family. With new format and schedule, and different attractions, it became a weekly auditorium program, screened on Saturdays at 10 am. The show ceased to show cartoons, invested in jokes, and Xuxa went on to receive her guests on a stage designed for interviews and musical numbers. In 2009 Xuxa released the film
Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha, telling what happens to the princesses after the "Happily Ever After". The film starred
Sasha Meneghel in theaters and featured the participation of
Hebe Camargo,
Luciano Szafir,
Luciano Huck,
Angelica and others. The film took more than 1,300,000 people to the movies and was released in Brazil, the United States and
Angola. In the musical career, Xuxa left to Som Livre, signing with
Sony Music. It is estimated that the contract value was R$10 million. Xuxa released the 9th title of the
Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos series, titled
Natal Mágico, and in 2010 the tenth edition of XSPB, entitled
Baixinhos, Bichinhos e Mais, the album sold, in one month, the amount necessary to become the best-selling DVD of 2010 in Brazil. In October 2010 Xuxa gave an interview explaining its break with "Free Sound" the presenter claimed that her then record company, was providing a tight budget for the size of its projects. Also in 2010, Xuxa was chosen as favourite Brazilian singer by the readers of the Argentine newspaper
Clarín. In April 2011, Xuxa launched
Mundo da Xuxa program on
TV Globo Internacional. The attraction was shown to Brazilian subscribers on every continent from Monday to Friday and shows the best moments of her career on Globo, as well as clips from XSPB. With success in the mornings, the program
TV Xuxa was transferred to the afternoons of Saturday in 2011, replacing the Session of Saturday, that suffered to leave the transmitter in the isolated leadership.
TV Xuxa finally came to an end on 25 January 2014, due to the health problems of the presenter. In May 2014, after five years in Sony Music, Xuxa returned to Som Livre. In a press release, the label corrected one of the main mistakes in the company's history: "not to keep one of the country's greatest artists".
2015–present: TV Globo exit and new phase On 5 March 2015, after 29 years with TV Globo and off air for over a year with the end of
TV Xuxa, Xuxa signed on with
Rede Record. Xuxa and TV Globo had amicably broken their contract in December 2014. The arrival of Xuxa in the headquarters of the station was transmitted live by the
Program of the Tarde, the station organized one of the biggest events of its history with several links with the fans in the door of its headquarters, in São Paulo, the movement of the employees and the signing of a contract with the presence of the high dome of the broadcaster and journalists of various media, at a press conference specially set up for the blonde at the
Teatro Record. This was considered one of the biggest signings in the history of the transmitter, according to sites specialized in TV. The presenter premiered
Xuxa Meneghel, a show of the same name, on 17 August 2015 on RecordTV's Monday night. The program, screened directly from RecNov, was inspired by
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and blended humor, music, interviews, games and special features. The attraction also opened space for the viewer to interact through social networks. Its last episode aired on 19 December 2016. After having its release postponed several times, Som Livre launched in December 2016, the
thirteenth volume of
Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos. Recorded in 2014, and expected to be released in September 2016, XPSB 13 earned Xuxa a
Latin Grammy nomination, but because it was released after the deadline, it was disqualified by the
Latin Recording Academy. On 3 April 2017, Xuxa debuted the program
Dancing Brasil, a Brazilian version of the American program
Dancing with the Stars, produced by
Endemol Shine and shown by RecordTV. Xuxa announced the national launch of their new tour of shows, titled
XuChá, and based on the traditional tea
Chá da Alice. On 6 February 2019, Xuxa also debuted the program
The Four Brasil, a Brazilian version of the American program
The Four, also produced by the
Endemol Shine Group and also shown by RecordTV. In 2023, Globoplay released a documentary about her called "
Xuxa, o Documentário". == Career in music ==