The character arc of Anitta
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Larissa de Macedo Machado on 30 March 1993 and raised in Honorio Gurgel, a Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood with one of the city's lowest development scores. Between then and now sit a parish choir joined at eight at her grandparents' insistence, English lessons at eleven, free dance lessons, a technical course in public administration, home videos found by a producer in 2011, a first single, a self-titled album that entered at number one in 2013, a first Spanish-language song in 2017, a diamond-certified album in 2022, and Grammy nominations. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Anitta?
A parish choir at eight, and five languages after.
She grew up in Honorio Gurgel, a neighbourhood with one of the lowest human development scores in Rio de Janeiro, the youngest daughter of parents who later divorced. Her brother is now one of her producers and helps manage her career. She started singing at eight, joining the choir of a local parish at her maternal grandparents' insistence. She took her first English lessons at eleven, having shown an interest in an academic career, and one of her mother's teachers gave her free dance lessons.
She finished school and a technical course in public administration, which is a sensible qualification for somebody from that neighbourhood and not a musical one. Her career began in 2011, when a funk producer saw home videos she had posted and invited her to record demos. She signed with a small independent label, released a first single that got local radio play, and appeared on television for the first time in May 2012, performing inside a giant beer glass. Her stage name comes from a character in a novel adapted for television, a woman she has said could be both girl and woman at once.
Her self-titled debut album entered at number one in Brazil in 2013 and went platinum, and two more albums followed by 2015. In 2017 she released her first song entirely in Spanish, which opened the whole Spanish-speaking market to her, and a project of international collaborations the same year. A trilingual fourth album followed in 2019 and a diamond-certified fifth in 2022. She has won four Latin American Music Awards, nine European music awards, three video music awards, two Guinness World Records and a national award, with two Grammy and ten Latin Grammy nominations, and has more entries on the American singles chart than any other Brazilian woman. She speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish, some Italian and French, and has taken Japanese classes.
The moments
Anitta's timeline.
The 1990s
Born in Honorio Gurgel
Everyday. One of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, and the youngest child in it.
The 2000s
A choir at eight
Milestone, and it changed everything. Her grandparents insisted, which is how a great many singers start.
English at eleven
Milestone, and it changed her direction. English at eleven, and somebody taught her to dance for nothing.
The 2010s
A qualification in administration
Milestone. The sensible qualification, taken and finished.
A producer finds her videos
Milestone, and it changed everything. Somebody watched her home videos and made a phone call.
Inside a glass of beer
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her first time on television, singing inside a novelty prop.
Number one, and platinum
Milestone, and it changed everything. Straight in at number one, from a neighbourhood with the lowest scores in the city.
Three albums in three years
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Three albums in three years, and all of them worked.
Sing in another language
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: record it in Spanish, taken, or stay the biggest at home. The crossover opened the Spanish-language market and she now has more American chart entries than any other Brazilian woman.
Her first song in Spanish
Milestone, and it changed everything. One song in another language, and a continent opened.
An album in three languages
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Three languages on one record, on purpose.
The 2020s
Diamond, and the charts
Milestone, and it changed everything. More American chart entries than any Brazilian woman has had.
Honorio Gurgel is still the first thing she says about herself, and she goes back. What it has set moving is measured in language: Brazilian funk was a local music sung in one tongue, and she learned four more and carried it onto charts that had never played it.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers began in a parish choir in a neighbourhood nobody scouts, and went worldwide in five languages. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Anitta: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Anitta's character arc?
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Why is Anitta called Anitta?
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What has Anitta won?
Where does this timeline of Anitta's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Anitta, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Latin Grammy and Grammy nomination records.
- Billboard chart records for Brazilian artists.