Born on February 9, 1909 Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, would eventually come to be known as Carmen Miranda. Reaching her highest prominence in the early 1940s, Carmen the "Brazilian Bombshell" epitomized the spirit, vitality and essence of Latin culture. She made her very first Hollywood film appearance in 1940 with Betty Grable in the film, Down Argentine Way and her last film in the 1953 film Scared Stiff with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Throughout her film career, she sang, danced and opened a door in the hearts of millions of fans worldwide. While her Hollywood film career was quite brief (she made only fourteen films in the US) she secured a popular icon of the 40s as "the lady in the tutti frutti hat."

The small northern Portuguese town of Marco do Cananeses was Carmen's birthplace, however she was brought to Brazil as a young girl and went to school at the Covenant of Saint Teresenha. Despite her education, she had leanings toward entertainment even as a young girl. Her devoutly Catholic parents did not approve of a career as an entertainer, so she kept her show-business identity under wraps. Working in a department store as a clerk, but spent most of her time on the clock entertaining coworkers with song. Off the clock she often sang for parties and festivals in the area. During one event, a passerby heard her sing and got her a weekly spot on a local radio station singing. It was also during this time that Carmen worked as a seamstress. She became very skilled and could make anything from dresses to hats to shoes. Working with milliner Madame Boss, she also began modeling the hats that she designed, which took on the traditional look of the Bahiana market women who wore baskets of fruit, vegetables and sundries on their heads. From there, she went on to display her singing talents at popular nightclubs in Brazil. Receiving her first recording contract in 1928 with RCA, she had a long-term recording contract. In the early 1930s she made her film debut in the Brazilian film, "A Voz do Carnaval." While continuing her acting career in Brazil, she also continued recording. By 1939 she had recorded over 300 singles.

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