After the release of Blue Beetle, all eyes are on Bruna Marquezine, the Brazilian model and actress who plays leading lady Jenny Kord opposite Xolo Maridueña (Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle) in the new DC film.
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As Jenny, Marquezine is the daughter of Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, and eventually becomes Jaime’s love interest after becoming close to him and his family. It’s a breakout role in Hollywood for the actress, who has already achieved mainstream success in her native Brazil.
Marquezine has been working since she was first cast in a commercial at the age of five years old. She would go on to work in telenovelas shortly thereafter, and soon became a staple TV Globo actress as well as a household name. While making the difficult transition from child star to adult actress, Marquezine considered ending her career due to increased media attention and being openly objectified for the first time, but ultimately decided she loved acting too much to give it up. Thanks to the support of her fellow TV Globo actresses, Marquezine developed a new love for her craft and began to build a global following, made all the more impressive as she was only appearing in Brazilian projects.
She began to attend fashion shows and landed coveted deals with brands like Miu Miu which helped build her social media following to an impressive 60 million across her Twitter and Instagram accounts. In early 2020, she made the difficult decision to leave TV Globo, a decision that ultimately paid off when she landed a deal with Netflix and nearly won the role of Supergirl in The Flash. While that role would go to Sasha Calle, her existing relationship with DC Studios kept her on the Blue Beetle‘s casting department’s minds, and helped her land the role of Jenny Kord.
Fresh off her American debut, Marquezine’s future looks bright; the actress recently signed to UTA and will have a role in the Netflix project Conquest, a sci-fi series set in a dystopian São Paulo. While Blue Beetle is Marquezine’s first English-language effort to date, she’s established herself through roles in Brazilian shows and films during her 23-year career. Here’s the best movies and TV shows she’s been a part of so far.
8. Mulheres Apaixonadas (Women in Love) (2003)
In 2003, Marquezines made her soap opera debut in the TV Globo telenovela, Mulheres Apaixonadas, playing the young Salete. While not a main character, the role helped make Marquezines recognizable in the eyes of the general public and would lead to future starring roles in TV Globo productions for the young actress. The show follows several entangled romance storylines but mostly centers around a woman in her forties named Helena who is torn between her safe marriage or a doomed, but passionate, relationship from her past.
7. I Love Paraisópolis (2015)
Marquezine starred in this telenovela about two young women living in the Paraisópolis district of São Paulo who grew up together as sisters despite not being related through blood, the studious and goal-oriented Mari (Marquezine) and the vain but loyal Danda. The show follows the pair’s strong friendship as well as a romance between Mari and a young architect from the wealthy neighboring community, Morumbi, who dreams of improving Paraisópolis for its residents.
6. Vou Nadar Atē Você (Ophelia’s Death) (2019)
Marquezine starred in the lead role as Ophelia in the 2019 film, Vou Nadar Atē Você. Ophelia is a young woman who grew up in Sāo Vicente with her single mother, but has reason to believe her father is the German artist, Tedesco. Determined to meet the man she thinks is her father, she sends him a letter and decides to swim from the Santos bridge to Ubatuba, where she believes he now resides. While many viewers appreciated Marquezine’s performance, the film has mixed reviews for its plot and cinematic direction.
5. America (2005)
In one of her first roles, Marquezine plays Maria Flor, the blind daughter of one of the series’ main characters. For their role in bringing awareness to the visually impaired community, Marquezine, her co-star Marcos Frota, and writer Gloria Perez were all awarded the Tiradentes Medal, an award to recognize efforts in supporting public causes.
The show follows a large cast of characters as they navigate their professional and personal lives, both in Brazil and in Miami.
4. Nada Será Como Antes (Nothing Remains the Same) (2016)
Nada Será Como Antes tells the love story of an ambitious television producer and an aspiring actress while they follow their joint dream of establishing the first television network in Brazil during the 1950s. Filled with glamorous upcoming stars and young hopefuls, the show’s historical setting is the perfect backdrop for a dramatic romance between two visionaries. Marquezine has a supporting role as a dancer and aspiring actress named Beatriz dos Santos in the miniseries.
3. Deus Salve o Rei (God Save the King) (2018)
In 2018, Marquezine joined the cast of Deus Salve o Rei in what would be her final TV Globo role. The plot is set in a medieval world where the two kingdoms of Montemor and Artena have a shaky relationship but manged to commit to a trade agreement for a time. When the queen of Montemor dies, the tense peace between the countries is tested as the heir chooses to abdicate the throne to his younger brother. Marquezine plays the villainous Princess Catarina of Artena.
2. Maldivas (2022)
After leaving her reliable TV Globo contract, Marquezine landed the lead role in the Netflix show Maldivas. In the quirky comedy-drama, she plays Liz Lobato, a woman who moves into a luxury condo community in order to meet with her estranged mother. Things take a turn for the dramatic when her mother dies in an apparent house fire right before Liz can arrive; Liz then meets the glamorous but shady residents of the community in what’s ultimately a fun soapy mystery à la Desperate Housewives.
1. Blue Beetle (2023)
Blue Beetle may have just hit theaters but it’s already shaping up to be one of our favorite superhero films of this year. While not a perfect film, the bug-themed hero‘s theatrical debut is already certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (with a 76 percent as of writing) and ranking high on other review aggregate sites; if the movie is a sign of what’s to come with James Gunn at the helm of DC Studios, it looks like the rebooted DCU is in good hands. Marquezine’s first stateside project shows she has what it takes to carve out a crossover career in Hollywood and we can’t wait to see where she goes next.
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