Maria Gladys Mello da Silva (born 23 November 1939) is a Brazilian actress. Gladys made her acting debut in 1959 with Arthur Azevedo's play "O Mambembe" at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. She earned recognition in the theater world by appearing topless in the publicity poster for the play "O Chão dos Penitentes". She's considered the mother of marginal cinema.

Gladys was born in the Cachambi neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At three, she contracted polio, and at fifteen, became pregnant. She then moved with her family to the Grajaú neighbourhood, where she gave birth to her first son, Glayson; his father soon vanished. In Grajaú, Gladys met notable figures like Erasmo Carlos, Carlos Imperial, Tim Maia and Roberto Carlos, whom she started dating. During this period, she became one of the official dancers on the TV show "Clube do Rock", created by Carlos Imperial.

In the late 1950s, Gladys pursued acting and moved with her family to Copacabana, in Rio's south zone. She made her theatrical debut in 1959 with Arthur Azevedo's play "O Mambembe" at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, performing alongside Fernanda Montenegro, Fernando Torres, Sérgio Britto and Ítalo Rossi. Concurrently, while training as an actress, Gladys joined the Teatro Jovem company. She made waves in the theater world by appearing topless in the publicity poster for the play "O Chão dos Penitentes", becoming the first serious actress in Brazil to display her body publicly. In 1962, she starred in the play "Sétimo Céu", directed by her friend Domingos de Oliveira.

Being part of the resistance during the Brazilian dictatorship led Gladys to exile in London between 1965 and 1979. In 1973, Gladys met american artist Lee Jaffe in London, and forty years later, it was revealed that he was the father of Rachel. Rachel is the mother of the movie star Mia Goth, making Jaffe her grandfather.^[1]

Later, Gladys lived with Betty Faria and shared a house in Vidigal with Leila Diniz. Following her mother's death and her father's return to the suburbs to care for his grandson, Gladys starred in Ruy Guerra's 1964 film "Os Fuzis", which won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Festival and was nominated for the Golden Bear.

On television, she appeared in significant productions like "Brilhante", "Bandidos da Falange", "As Noivas de Copacabana", "Hilda Furacão", "Um Anjo Caiu do Céu", "A Lua Me Disse" and "Aquele Beijo". Her most iconic role, however, was Lucimar da Silva in "Vale Tudo".

In 2016, she portrayed Dr. Elizabeth Tacanha in the TV Globo series "Pé na Cova".

• Maria Gladys at IMDb