Sabrina Petraglia

Sabrina Petraglia Balsalôbre (born April 16, 1983) is a Brazilian actress, model, and businesswoman best known for her role as Shirlei in the hit Rede Globo soap opera Haja Coração. Since 2023, she has lived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Biography Petraglia was born on April 16, 1983, in São Paulo. In 1990, aged seven, she started theatre classes at school. In 2004, she graduated with a BA in Multimedia Communications from PUC-SP, one of the most prominent universities in São Paulo. In 2009 she graduated in acting from the Escola de Arte Dramática.

Career Petraglia started her acting career in theatre, performing in various plays in Brazil, including the leading female role in Zen Salles' highly rated play Pororoca. Directed by Sérgio Ferrara, it ran at Teatro Popular do SESI Paulista in São Paulo in 2010.

Her first appearance on television came in 2010 in the SBT telenovela Uma Rosa Com Amor In 2013, she made her TV Globo debut in the Flor do Caribe, but it was her role in Alto Astral a year later as Italia, a nurse in crisis after having an intimate video exposed online, that saw her become nationally famous.

In 2016, she was cast in a principal role in Haja Coração, playing the part of Shirlei, a girl born with a birth defect. Her performances saw her nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award at the 2016 Premio Extra de Televisão and Best Actress at the 2017 Trofeu Internet awards.

In 2017, she starred in Tempo de Amar as a feminist, before two years later working with Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles in HBO crime series Pico da Neblina (Joint Venture). Between 2020 and 2021 she played the part of a business manager in Salve-se Quem Puder.

In 2024, she appeared on Brazilian screens for the first time since moving to Dubai the previous year. With scenes recorded both in the UAE and Brazil, she played the role of Maya in Familia É Tudo.

The same year, she played the protagonist in the short film Mar de Maes, which was written by best-selling author Thais Vilarinho. The film was screened in Dubai in front of a full auditorium, including Petraglia, Vilarinho, and the Brazilian Ambassador to the UAE, Sidney Leon Romero. It was the first Brazilian production to premiere in the Arab country.

Personal life

In addition to her successful career as an actress in Brazil, Petraglia has been expanding her presence internationally through social media where she shares insights and culture from her life in Dubai, drawing much attention both in Brazil and in the Gulf. English-language publications have explored her journey, her transition to life in the UAE, and the projects in which she is involved. In January 2025, she said she had "three projects in the pipeline to promote our literature to a wider audience", as well as plans to produce children's plays in Dubai. 2024 Família É Tudo Maya de Osma Cinema

Theatre

Awards and nominations