Fourteen years after Avenida Brasil, one of the most watched telenovelas in Brazilian television history, Débora Falabella is going back to the role of Nina. Casting news for the sequel, announced in mid-October 2026, confirms that she will play a leading part in Avenida Brasil 2, due on TV Globo in 2027.
In 2012, Avenida Brasil told the story of Nina’s revenge on Carminha, the stepmother who had abandoned her as a child at a rubbish dump. The duel between Débora Falabella and Adriana Esteves gripped Brazil for months. The sequel, written by the same author, João Emanuel Carneiro, picks up the story fourteen years later. Carminha has served her prison sentence and returns a changed woman, admired for helping struggling families.
“Call me madam again”
Falabella’s return was confirmed in mid-September. On social media she greeted the news with a nod to fans, borrowing a line from her character: “Podem voltar a me chamar de senhora... e com a voz aveludada”, roughly “You can call me madam again... in that velvet voice.” Murilo Benício, who plays Tufão, posted simply: “Brasil, voltamos” (“Brazil, we’re back”).
On 14 October, the Belo Horizonte daily O Tempo clarified Nina’s place in the new story. First described as a special guest appearance, Falabella is now expected to keep the prominence she had in the original throughout the production. Nearly fifty actors have been announced, among them Adriana Esteves, Murilo Benício, Cauã Reymond, Marcos Caruso and Eliane Giardini. Rehearsals began in September and filming is due to start in October. The series is scheduled for 2027 in the 9 pm slot, following Quem Ama Cuida.
Raised on the stage
Born in Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, on 22 February 1979, Débora Falabella grew up in a family of performers: her father, Rogério Falabella, is an actor and her mother, Maria Olympia, an opera singer. Her sister Cynthia Falabella is also an actress. She began acting as a child and made her professional stage debut at fifteen, in Flicts. She started a degree in advertising, then left when acting offers came in.
Television made her name in the late 1990s, with the series Malhação. In 2001 her role in O Clone won her a best newcomer award. Then came Senhora do Destino, Sinhá Moça, in which she played the lead, and Duas Caras.
Film and theatre
In cinema she won awards from her first major roles. Françoise (2001) earned her several best actress prizes, including the Golden Kikito at the Gramado festival. Dois Perdidos numa Noite Suja (2002) brought her the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro for best actress. She also appeared in Lisbela e o Prisioneiro (2003) and Cazuza – O Tempo Não Pára (2004), about the singer Cazuza.
She has kept working in theatre, in plays such as Noites Brancas, Contrações and Love, Love, Love. On television, after Avenida Brasil, came Dupla Identidade, A Força do Querer and, in 2023, the telenovela Terra e Paixão, in which she played Lucinda.
The role that stayed with her
Nina remains her best-loved role: a woman who builds a new identity to obtain justice, facing an opponent who became one of the most famous villains in Brazilian fiction. Returning to the character at 47, fourteen years on, is also a measure of how far she has come, moving between mass-audience telenovelas, independent cinema and the stage without ever settling into one register.
© Photo: Multishow - CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
