Ilka Soares

One of the most beautiful women in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s, her career began in 1947 in a Miss Brazil pageant promoted by 'O Globo' newspaper, where she met Vittorio Cardineli and Ugo Lombardi, actress Bruna Lombardi's father, who invited her to audition for Iracema (1949), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by José de Alencar. After a successful screen test at 'Brasil Vita Filmes' studios, she got the leading role in what is now considered a lost film. In the 50s, she starred in ten films for 'Atlântida Empresa Cinematográfica do Brasil' and 'Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz', two of the most prestigious Brazilian film studios at that time. She started on TV in 1956 as a news anchor and variety show host, becoming popular on magazine covers as well as a professional model. Her 40-decade-long career in telenovelas began with O Cafona (1971).