Brazilian politician and actress who began her artistic career on TV Tupi, then on Rede Globo, where she appeared in several prominent roles, such as in O Rebu (1974), O Casarão (1976) and Sinhazinha Flô (1977). In 2007, she played the character Dona Benta in the last season of the children’s series Sítio do Picapau Amarelo.
In 1970, Mendes was arrested by the DOI-CODI and held in prison for four years. Between September and October 1974, she was once again detained for 30 days, and tortured. She was acquitted by the Superior Military Court.
Along with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then a growing figure in the Brazilian political scene, Mendes was one of the founding members of the Workers’ Party, by which she was elected Congresswoman for the 1983-1987 term.
Mendes was Secretary of Culture in the state of São Paulo between 15 March 1987 and 21 December 1988, and president of the Arts Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro in 1999.
When exercising her second term as congresswoman, Mendes joined the entourage of President José Sarney on an official visit to Uruguay. On 17 August 1985, she discovered that among the officers of the Brazilian Embassy in Uruguay was Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the man who tortured her in prison.
Bete Mendes was married to actor Dennis Carvalho from 1970 to 1975, and later to Antônio Carlos de Oliveira and then Marco Antônio Fernandes.
Link to Wikipedia biography