While many around the world might instantly recognise Portuguese actress Lúcia Moniz for her starring role in Love Actually, it turns out she actually has another unexpected claim to fame.
In 2003 Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy hit screens. Set during the Christmas season, the film delved into the different aspects of love – told in 10 separate stories involving a string of people who it is discovered are linked as the movie plays out.
It was a huge success at the box office, earning $250.2million (£185million) after being made on a budget of $40million (£29million).
One of these stories was the blossoming romance between writer Jamie, played by Colin Firth, and his Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia, played by Moniz, who he meets when retreating to Marseille after discovering his girlfriend is cheating on him with his brother.
Despite their initial attraction towards each other, things are made complicated due to the fact she doesn’t speak English.
But determined to not let the chance at love pass him by, Jamie begins learning Portuguese and races back to France to declare his love for Aurélia before its too late.
More than 20 years after being introduced to the actress, many will have no idea that years before Love Actually, Moniz also had another notable career achievement – representing her country at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The daughter of composer, performer, and conductor Carlos Alberto Moniz, and singer and actress Maria do Amparo, Moniz, now 49, grew up on the island of Terceira in the Azores before the family moved to Lisbon.
She was just six years old when she began studying at a music academy, then going on to learnt the violin too.
It was when she was 19 that Moniz then entered Portugal’s Festival da Canção – a national festival produced and broadcast by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) to select its entry for Eurovision.
Competing with her song O meu coração não tem cor (My Heart Has No Colour), Moniz won the contest by just four points, before going on to represent Portugal at Eurovision in 1996.
It was at the contest – held in Oslo, Norway – that she finished sixth out of 23 contestants and still holds the record for the country’s second most successful participant, after Salvador Sobral won in 2017.
Following her success at Eurovision, Moniz was then cast in her first acting role in 1997 – playing twins in the soap opera A Grande Aposta. She was then cast in another soap, titled Terra Mãe.
In 1999 she then released her first studio album Magnolia, which reached the top 20 in the Portuguese albums chart and was certified Gold. Her next album, 67, dropped in 2002.
But it was her next major job that would see her gain international attention – being cast in Love Actually.
In 2021 she spoke to Portuguese Soul magazine about being part of the now-iconic festive film.
‘It was incredible. And it’s incredible to be part of a classic. Nobody expected the film would have that impact,’ she shared.
‘The film was actually released at Christmas because it involves the Christmas period, but I never thought that after seventeen years it would still be considered the classic movie we watch today.
‘Everything started with castings in Portugal, and I was chosen from among 25 actresses. The entire experience was marvellous. I learned a huge amount and encountered an incredible reality and great actors, such as Colin Firth.’
Asked if she still kept in touch with any of the cast, she explained: ‘Yes, with Colin Firth and Bill Nighy. I speak to Emma Thompson now and then. There was a reunion two or three years ago and it was wonderful. We were all urging Richard to write a sequel. But he didn’t want to. I sincerely believe we wanted to do a second film, because of how pleasant it was to be back together.’
Although that sequel is yet to eventuate, in the years since the original, Moniz has released a further three albums – Leva-me p’ra casa (Take Me Home), Fio de Luz and Calendário, the latter which was released in 2015.
Two years after that she also reprised her role from Love Actually for Red Nose Day Actually, a short-film sequel created for Comic Relief.
On the big screen, she’s also appeared in the Portuguese films Fatima and Listen.
Although many will instantly recognise the actress for Love Actually, her Eurovision success will also mark a massive turning point in Moniz’s career
As she once said about competing at the contest: ‘I was just having fun. I had a great, great crew with me. We were singing Portuguese music every day, in the hotel corridors and on the streets.’
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