Deborah Secco

Biography

Secco was born into a middle-class family, daughter of Sílvia Regina Fialho, a homemaker, and Ricardo Secco, a mathematics teacher. She has two siblings, Ricardo and Bárbara.

Career

At 8 years old she debuted in TV advertising and at age 10, appeared in her first TV show Brincando de Era uma Vez. At age 11, she starred in her first soap opera, Mico Preto by Rede Globo.

In 1999, she appeared in the novela Suave Veneno, as 'WAG' Marina. In August of that year, she also posed for the first time for the Brazilian edition of Playboy magazine, in the magazine's 24th anniversary edition.

In 2000, she played her first villain in a novela, as the rebel Iris in Laços de Família. In 2001, she gained her first protagonist role in a novela, as the sweet Cecília de Sá, in A Padroeira.

In 2002, she played another TV villain - the comical and clumsy vampire Lara, in the novela O Beijo do Vampiro. That year, it was voted the most beloved character in a novela by viewers. Due to the great sensual appeal and prominence in the novela and the success of Lara, Secco aapeared on the cover of Playboy for the 27th birthday edition of the magazine in August that year.

In 2003, she joined the cast of the novela Celebridade, for the role of Darlene Sampaio, a girl obsessed with fame. In 2005 she played her first prime-time role in América - as Sol, a woman trying to make a living in the United States, even as an illegal immigrant.

In 2010, she starred in the series As Cariocas, as Alice, the penultimate protagonist of the series. Alice wants to experience everything intensely in the episode A Suícida da Lapa.

In 2011, she starred as a former prostitute in Confessions of a Brazilian Call Girl. Later that year, she played one of the protagonists in the novela Insensato Coração; the comic character Natalie Lamour. The character enamoured the audience and was praised even by the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. The actress was the second most popular Brazilian on the internet, due to the premiere of the movie and her novela character. She jumped from ninth place to second, behind only the president, in the month of January.

Personal life

In 1997 she met the director Rogério Gomes, whom she married, but divorced in 2001.

In 2007, Secco began dating the football player Roger Galera Flores, and within months they moved in together. After two years, they married on June 6, 2009 in a discreet ceremony in Itaipava, a mountain region of Rio de Janeiro. They parted amicably in April 2013, after four years of marriage, with a brief break in 2010.

Conviction

According to the national political magazine Veja article published on 05/11/2013, the actress must return more than R$158,000 reais to public coffers.

Secco was forced by the courts to return R$158,191 reais to public coffers. The actress was convicted of embezzlement of public funds in a lawsuit for unjust enrichment and administrative misconduct. The mother, brothers and father of the family were also punished and will need to repay R$446,455 reais.

The sentence comes from judge Alexandre de Carvalho Mesquita, the 3rd Court of Exchequer, announced on 24 March 2013. According to the decision, the penalty still provides a fine of R$5,000 reais, the suspension of political rights and the prohibition to contract with the government or receive tax incentives. She can appeal.

On the bank account of Secco would have been deducted two checks – on the amount of R$77,000 and R$81,000 reais - regarding embezzlement of a scam involving the Public Service Foundation School (Fesp) and NGOs. Even higher amounts were deposited in the bank accounts of Light Artistic Productions (R$163,700 reais) and her relatives (R$282,500).

According to investigations, government agencies in Rio de Janeiro hired Fesp to perform projects even though knowing she could not fulfill the deal. The foundation then repassed the contracts to NGOs represented by the actress' father, Mr. Tindo Ricardo Ribeiro Secco, head of the scheme. In his and his wife´s account was deposited R$453,000 reais.

Magazine covers

Interviews