Paulo Gustavo

Paulo Gustavo (30 October 1978 - 4 May 2021), born Paulo Gustavo Amaral Monteiro de Barros, was a Brazilian actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, and presenter. He became known for the play Minha Mae e uma Peca, which in 2013 became a feature film and the most watched film of the year in Brazil. Due to its success with critics and audiences, it was followed by two sequels, in 2016 and 2019. He graduated from the Casa das Artes de Laranjeiras in early 2005, together with Fabio Porchat and Marcus Majella, among others.

Gustavo gained visibility at the end of 2004, when he joined the cast of the play Surto, where he introduced the humorous female character Dona Herminia. In 2006, the play Minha Mae E Uma Peca premiered, with Gustavo again playing Dona Herminia in a monologue with a text of his own; the performance earned him a Premio Shell nomination for best actor. He presented the show Hiperativo in 2010, became the host of 220 Volts in 2011, and in June 2013 starred in the sitcom Vai Que Cola on Multishow. In 2017, he joined the program A Vila alongside Katiuscia Canoro.

Born and raised in a middle-class family in Niteroi, in Greater Rio de Janeiro, Gustavo studied at the traditional Colegio Salesiano. Openly homosexual since adolescence, on 20 December 2015 he married dermatologist Thales Bretas, and the couple became parents to sons Romeu and Gael, born in August 2019 through surrogacy. On 13 March 2021, Gustavo was admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19; his condition worsened and he died on the night of 4 May 2021 at the age of 42.