This week it's the Brazilian film industry that is under the FemaleFirst spotlight which has. over the years produced some really great movies.
So today we take a look at some of the actors that have helped shape that industry into what it is today.
- Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda is perhaps one of the most famous actress to emerge from Brazil. She kicked off her career in the late twenties but it wasn't until the mid forties that she really hit the dizzy heights of fame.
She pursued a singing career at first and was invited to New York to perform on Broadway. By this time she was a superstar in Brazil and in 1935 she made her feature film debut in Estudantes.
By the forties, with the help of movies such as The Gang's All Here she was a Hollywood star and one of the highest paid entertainers at the time.
But with this success brought criticism from Brazil as she was accused as becoming too Americanised. However thousands lined the streets when she died in 1955.
- Rodrigo Santoro
Thirty three year old Rodrigo Santoro is one of the biggest names in Brazilian cinema presently kicking off his career back in the early nineties.
But was nearly a different path for the actor after he began studying Journalism in PUC-Rio before being lulled into the acting world.
He began his career in TV appearing in the likes of Olho no Olho and Mulheres Apaixonadas. But more recently he has moved into cinema.
His first big movie came in 2001 when he starred in Brainstorm by Brazilian filmmaker Laís Bodansky. He won over many critics with his performance in the movie and has gone on to establish himself as a leading man starring in Behind the Sun and Carandiru.
He has slowly began to grab the attention of American studios and he was signed up to appear in TV film The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone with Helen Mirren and Anne Bancroft.
Since then he has gone on to appear in Love Actually, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and 300.
- Alice Braga
Alice Braga's big break came back in 2002 when she was cast as Anjelica in the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated City of God.
For her performance in the role she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize.
From here she juggled movies such as Lower City and Only God Knows with TV appearing in Carandiru.
In 2006 she made her debut in an English speaking movie when she appeared in Journey to the End of Night. The movie also starred Brendan Fraser and Mos Def and played at the Tribeca Film Festival.
And it wasn't long before she appeared in the big budget blockbuster as she landed the role of Anna in I Am Legend alongside Will Smith.
Since then she has appeared in Red Belt and Crossing Over. She will next be seen in Eleven Minutes which is released next year.
- Daniel Benzali
Daniel Benzali, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, began as a theatre actor, following in the footsteps of his father.
But it wasn't long before he began landing small roles in some big American television shows including The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation and L.A. Law.
And Benzali made such an impression on L.A. Law's creator Steven Bochco that he cast him in the lead in murder series Murder One in 1995.
Murder One and the role of Ted Hoffman was a huge hit for Benzali as he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
And the actor has stayed with TV appearing in the likes of Murder at 1600 and Jericho for CBS whilst also juggling his career in the theatre.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw