Celeste Arantes
About Celeste Arantes
Lived 1922 – 2024 (aged 101).
Celeste Arantes (20 November 1922 – 21 June 2024), better known as Dona Celeste, was the wife of the footballer Dondinho, and mother of another footballer Pelé.
Biography
Born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Celeste married Dondinho while he was playing for , and with him she had three children: Edson (Pelé), Jair (Zoca) and Maria Lúcia. Celeste was always against the idea of her children following a career as footballers, as she understood how difficult it was to move from place to place all the time. She outlived Pelé by nearly two years, dying at the age of 101. She had been in a vegetative state since 2019.
She is also embodied as a character in Mauricio de Sousa's comic strips Pelezinho.
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Important facts
People in Celeste Arantes's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Celeste Arantes's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Celeste Arantes?
(1922 -2024)
When was Celeste Arantes born?
Celeste Arantes was born on 20 November 1922.
When did Celeste Arantes die?
Celeste Arantes died on 21 June 2024 in Brazil.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Celeste Arantes. https://biography.guide/celeste-arantes/
MLA: "Celeste Arantes." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/celeste-arantes/.
Chicago: "Celeste Arantes." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/celeste-arantes/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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