Simone de Oliveira

Simone de Macedo e Oliveira (born 11 February 1938), better known as Simone de Oliveira, is a Portuguese singer and actress. She represented Portugal at the and of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the songs "" and "" respectively.

Early life and career Simone de Oliveira was born and raised in Lisbon. Her Portuguese mother had black African roots in São Tomé and Príncipe (then a Portuguese territory), and her father was Belgian. She started singing in high school.

Music career

She started her career at the end of the 1950s.

On 6 February 1965, she won the with the song "". She subsequently at the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 with that song, placing 13th receiving only one point.

In 1968, the released the Quando Me Enamoro EP on Decca PEP 1250. It contained the songs, "Viva O Amor" ("Ein Hoch Der Liebe") by Carl J. Schäuble and Horst Jankowsky, "Nos Meus Braços Outra Vez" ("Come Into My Arms Again") by Barbara Ruskin, "Quando Me Enamoro" ("Quando M'Innammoro") by – Pace, Panzeri and Livraghi, and "Para Cada Um Sua Canção" ("A Chacun Sa Chanson") by J. C. Oliver and R. Valade.

On 24 February 1969, she won the with the song "". The song, composed by with lyrics by José Carlos Ary dos Santos, was a great success in Portugal, having controversial lyrics during the time of the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar. She represented Portugal with the song at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 in Madrid. Despite her popularity at home, it was not successful at the Eurovision, getting only 4 votes and placing 15th.

In 1980, she was again selected by (RTP) to represent Portugal in the ninth edition of the OTI Festival. She performed the song "" which got the 14th place with 9 points.

Other successful songs: "Maria solidão" "Deixa lá" "À tua espera"

On 23 September 2017, Simone, o Musical, dedicated to Simone de Oliveira and telling her life story, made its debut at the Teatro Tivoli BBVA in Lisbon. Simone de Oliveira also appeared on stage throughout the musical, and closed the play with the song Apenas o meu povo (“Just my people”).

In 2022, she was announced to be a coach on the generations version of The Voice Portugal alongside Mickael Carreira, Anselmo Ralph, and Bárbara Bandeira. At 84, she became the oldest The Voice coach globally. She returned for her second season as a coach in 2023, with Carreira, Ralph, and Sara Correia.

Selected filmography Theater A tragédia da Rua das Flores Passa por mim no Rossio (a great success in Portugal) Maldita cocaína. A homage to the singer Madalena Iglésias in the musical play What happened to Madalena Iglésias (another success) Alma Mahler-Werfel in Joshua Sobols play Alma (2003, directed by Paulus Manker) in Convento dos Inglesinhos in Lisbon.

Acting career Year Title Role Notes 1964 A Canção da Saudade Herself 1967 Operação diamante 1976 Cântico final 1982 Clara

Television She has participated in several Portuguese telenovelas: Date Title Role Network Notes 1996 Amélia Falcão RTP 1996/1997 Madalena Fragoso RTP 2001/2002 Maria dos Prazeres RTP 2005/2006 Morangos com Açúcar Maria Antónia Mergulhão TVI 2006/2007 Raquel Lemos Silva Reis TVI 2008 D. Efigénia Marques Vila RTP 2022–2023 The Voice Generations Coach RTP

In 1993, Simone was also a jury member in the first season of SIC contest (the Portuguese version of Stars in Their Eyes), which has uncovered new talents in Portuguese music.

Personal life Simone is a breast cancer survivor and had the sickness twice.