Ana Paula Henkel

Ana Paula Rodrigues Henkel (born 13 February 1972), more commonly known as Ana Paula, is a Brazilian retired female volleyball player and journalist who represented Brazil at four Summer Olympics: in volleyball in 1992 and 1996, and in beach volleyball in 2004 and 2008. With Brazil women's national volleyball team, she won three World Grand Prix editions and got medals in various tournaments, including the 1996 Olympics in the United States and the 1994 FIVB World Championship in Japan. On the beach, she won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2003 (alongside Sandra Pires) and 2008 (with Shelda Bede).

In 2024, Ana Paula Henkel was indroduced into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.

She is currently a columnist for Revista Oeste and a political commentator on a program called Oeste Sem Filtro, broadcast on the video platforms Rumble and YouTube.

Personal life

After retiring from volleyball in 2010, Paula moved to Los Angeles, California, where she majored in architecture at UCLA and is now studying to get a master's degree in political science. Noted for her conservative views, she had a column in newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and joined news station Jovem Pan.

Paula has been married three times, first to basketballer Jeffty Connelly from 1994 to 1998, and then to volleyball coach Marcus Miranda, with whom she had a son. Since 2010, she has been married to attorney and retired beach volleyballer Carl Henkel. She was considering a fifth Olympic appearance in 2012.

Individual Awards 1994 FIVB World Grand Prix – "Best Blocker"

1996 FIVB World Grand Prix – "Best Blocker"

1998 FIVB World Grand Prix – "Best Spiker"

1998 FIVB World Grand Prix – "Best Blocker"