Xuxa

This article is about the Brazilian celebrity Xuxa. For her show of that title, see Xuxa (U.S. TV program). For other uses, see Xuxa (disambiguation).

Xuxa
Xuxa in 2014
Born	Maria da Graça Meneghel (1963-03-27) 27 March 1963
Nationality	Brazilian Italian
Other names	Rainha dos Baixinhos
Occupations	TV host singer actress model business woman
Years active	1980 (1980)–present
Spouses	Luciano Szafir ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2002)​ Junno Andrade ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	Sasha Meneghel
Musical career
Genres	Pop Children's music
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Som Livre Sony Music RCA Records PolyGram Philips Records
Website	xuxa.com
Signature

Maria da Graça "Xuxa" Meneghel (Portuguese pronunciation: [maˈɾia da ˈgɾasa ˈʃuʃa mẽneˈgɛw]; born 27 March 1963), commonly known as Xuxa (English: /ˈʃuːʃə/ SHOO-shə; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʃuʃɐ]), is a Brazilian television host, film actress, singer, model and businesswoman. Her various shows have been broadcast in Portuguese, English, and Spanish worldwide. She is a two-time winner of the Latin Grammy Award for Best Children's Album, and is also known for her epithet, the "Queen of Children".

Meneghel began her television career with the Clube da Criança on Rede Manchete in the early 1980s. She became a national superstar when she moved to Rede Globo in 1986 for the Xou da Xuxa. She was the first Brazilian to appear on Forbes Magazine's list of richest artists in 1991, taking 37th place with an annual gross income of US$19 million.

Over her 30-year career, Meneghel has sold over 50 million records worldwide, which makes her the second-highest-selling Brazilian female singer after Rita Lee. Her net worth was estimated at US$100 million in the early 1990s. Also active as a businesswoman, she has the highest net worth of any Brazilian female entertainer, estimated at US$400 million.

Biography

Early life

Portico da Xuxa in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul.

Maria da Graça Meneghel was born in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul, to Luiz Floriano Meneghel and Alda Meneghel (née Alda Flores da Rocha). She is of partial Italian Brazilian descent, her paternal great-grandfather had emigrated to Brazil at the end of the 1800s from the northern Italian town of Imer, in the Autonomous Province of Trento.

During Meneghel’s birth, her father was told that both mother and child were at risk. He opted to save his wife, and prayed to St. Mary of Graces, promising to name his daughter after the Virgin if all went well. Although she was originally named after Saint Mary of Graces, Meneghel received the nickname by which she came to be known from her brother, Bladimir. When their mother arrived home, she said to him: "Look at the baby that I bought to play with you." To this, he replied: "I know, it's my Xuxa." The nickname stuck, though it was not until 1988 that she officially became Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel.

Meneghel spent her early years in Santa Rosa. When she was seven, she and her family moved to Rio de Janeiro where they lived in the Bento Ribeiro neighborhood.

At 15 years, she was discovered by a modeling agency and began her professional career as a model at 16. During this time, Meneghel continued to model in Brazil and the United States for both fashion and men's magazines, such as Playboy, and began a love affair with Brazilian football star Pelé. In 1984, she was hired as a model by Ford Models.

In 2013, Meneghel obtained Italian citizenship by descent.

Television career

1983–86: Rede Manchete

Established as national beauty and sex symbol, Meneghel got the chance to move toward a career in television through an offer to host a small regional children's program, Clube da Criança for Rede Manchete. In this period, she worked as a model during the week in New York City and was taping her show during the weekend in Brazil. In 1986 this opportunity was expanded when she received an offer to host a national children's program through the multimedia conglomerate Globo.

1986–92: Xou da Xuxa and breakthrough

On June 30, 1986, Xou da Xuxa debuted on TV Globo, a daily program with her name. The attraction was shown from Monday to Saturday on the morning of the station. Meneghel arrived on a pink ship, which awakened in the children the dream of flying beside her. Children from all over Brazil ran to have breakfast with the song "Quem Qué Pão?". Meneghel would end the show by putting on bright lipstick and kissing the children participating in the show and in the audience on the cheek, leaving the imprint of her lipstick. The program came to an end on 31 December 1992, after 2000 editions. At Christmas 1986, the hostess received her eighth platinum record, a prize awarded to every 250,000 copies sold. The album Xou da Xuxa, from the record company Som Livre, had sold more than two million copies so far, achieving by then the South American record for a single album. Xuxa sold more than Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos that year. In the following years, the presenter still released six more albums of the series, such as Xou da Xuxa 2 and 3, which established themselves as the best-selling albums in Brazil so far, with 2.7 and 3.3 million copies sold, respectively. With the recorded songs, it left in tours by Brazil that were seen by millions of people.

In 1987, the French newspaper Libération included Meneghel in a list of 10 women of great prominence in the world, along with English prime minister Margaret Thatcher. In the same period, Meneghel began a relationship with the Brazilian driver Formula 1, Ayrton Senna, who died in 1994. In parallel to the Xou da Xuxa, the presenter commanded Bobeou Dançou, between July 9 and December 31, 1989, on Sunday afternoons of TV Globo. Initially created as Xou of Xuxa frame, it was so successful that the station decided to launch it as an independent program aimed at the adolescent public. The Bobeou Dançou was a program of rumba based on riddles with two teams formed by adolescents between 13 and 17 years disputed the first place of the competition.

In 1990, a new record: the film Lua de Cristal, its biggest box office hit, sold 4,178 million tickets and ranks 21st in the ranking of most watched national films from 1970 to 2011 according to Ancine (Agência Nacional do Cinema). In 1991, Meneghel appeared in 37th place for Forbes among the 40 richest celebrities of that year, with a turnover of $19 million dollars. She was the first Brazilian to join the list. The Paradão da Xuxa emerged as an independent program after the success of the picture of the same name presented in the Xou of Xuxa. The program was aired between April 25 and December 26, 1992 on Saturday mornings of TV Globo, replacing Xou of Xuxa on that day. The programme was three hours long, with different singers and musical groups performing. The musical selection included samba, rock, and sertanejo music. On the last Saturday of each month, Super Paradão (Vacation Specials) was shown, highlighting the most successful songs of the period.

1991–93: International career

After reaching success with her record sales in Brazil, Meneghel released her first Spanish-language album, Xuxa 1, which performed well in the Latin American market. She widened her appeal among Spanish-speaking audiences when she recorded a program in Argentina, called El Show de Xuxa. The Los Angeles Times reported in 1992 that "more than 20 million Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking children watched El Show de Xuxa in 16 countries of Latin America every day, as well as Univision in the United States. The first two seasons of the show, the most popular, were produced by Argentine TV channel Telefé while the third season, in 1993, was produced independently and then sold for broadcast to El Trece. Her last Spanish speaking show aired in Latin America on 31 December 1993.

The New York Times highlighted her success in Brazil and Latin America in an article by correspondent James Brooke. The publication highlighted the record sales of albums of the singer, which in 1990 reached 12 million copies, and its success in the Hispanic market, where it reached 300,000 copies with their first album in Spanish. At the time, she was called by New York Magazine as "Latin American Madonna". In 1992, the Los Angeles Times said that Meneghel was "probably better known to most Latin American pre-adolescents than Michael Jackson." Meneghel moved into European television in 1992, when after taping programs in Brazil and Argentina, she was invited to hosted the program Xuxa Park in Spain. Released by Telecinco channel, the game show was shown on Sundays, with high ratings. The show lasted two years. The theme song of the show, Sabor de la Vida, had huge success in Spain, being among the 100 most played in the European Hot 100 Singles. Her Xuxa Park album also sold well for 8 weeks and was certified gold. Billboard magazine published in September 1992, that the album Xuxa 2 was at the top of the Spanish charts, and appeared in position 77 of the 100 most sold albums in the world. The biggest hits on this disc were: Loquita Por Ti (#29 on the billboard chart), Luna de Cristal (#35 on the billboard chart) and Chindolele (#10 on the billboard chart). The album reached the fifth position in the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums of 1991. In 1992, People Magazine chose Xuxa as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.

In 1993, Meneghel hosted an English-language series in the United States titled Xuxa, which was produced by MTM Enterprises. However, it did not achieve the popularity she had enjoyed throughout Brazil, Latin America and Spain, and was cancelled after one season due to low ratings. It was initially broadcast by 124 stations across the country. The shows were produced on Sound Stage 36 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. Sixty-five episodes were taped for the first season of the show. Taping of the episodes was done in a 5-week period in the summer of 1993. The shows were broadcast Monday through Friday, generally in the early morning or mid-afternoon. All 65 episodes were broadcast during the initial 13 weeks before there was a repeat. Starting in September 1994, Xuxa began airing on The Family Channel cable network, at 8:00am ET/PT. They reprised original episodes on a new children's block until February 19, 1996 when it stopped airing on The Family Channel. The show was sold to a great number of countries throughout the world, including Japan, Israel, Russia, Australia, Romania and some Arab countries. Her international ambitions apparently ended after the grueling taping schedule for her American show. She was hospitalized for several days due to exhaustion, and decided to give up her international career. In the U.S., Sony Wonder has released two of her videos and a record that includes English translations of some of her most successful songs in Portuguese and Spanish.

1994–2000: Weekend shows

File:Xuxa Park esfera 1994.png

Meneghel at the premiere of Xuxa Park on June 4, 1994. In the first phase of the program, the host left from within a sphere, to the sound of "Doce Mel."

Meneghel returned to her children's audience with Xuxa Park, the Brazilian version of a project of the same name that commanded in Spain. The program directed by Marlene Mattos gathered pictures, jokes and musical attractions was exhibited between June 4, 1994 and January 6, 2001 on Saturday mornings of TV Globo. The attraction was canceled abruptly due to a fire that occurred on January 11, 2001 in the recording of its carnival special.

In parallel to Xuxa Park, Meneghel presented Xuxa Hits between January 8 and April 16, 1995 on Sunday afternoons on TV Globo. Inspired by Xuxa Hits, Planeta Xuxa was created, which premiered on April 5, 1997. Initially, Planeta Xuxa was shown on TV Globo's Saturday afternoons, so Meneghel presented two shows simultaneously on the same day, as Xuxa Park occupied the broadcasters' mornings. As of April 19, 1998, the program began to be presented on Sunday afternoons due to the 1998 World Cup, remaining on Sundays until its closure in 2002. Planeta Xuxa was focused on the performances of musicians and bands. The program had the format of a discotech, with the participation of the public and celebrity guests. The attraction came to an end on July 28, 2002, due to Meneghel's desire to return to children's television.

2001–14: Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação and TV Xuxa

As a mother, Meneghel noticed a shortage of videos for small children. In 2001, she designed the Só Para Baixinhos audiovisual and the CD and DVD set. The album Só Para Baixinhos 2 received worldwide recognition and won the 2002 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Children's Album category. With the success of the Xuxa project for Baixinhos, which was aimed at children from 0 to 10 years old, the presenter had the desire to create a program in this educational mold, and on October 28, 2002 she debuted Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação. The show was broadcast on Monday mornings of TV Globo, marking the return of the presenter the broad daily of the station after the end of Xou da Xuxa. The attraction, about 40 minutes long, was divided into four blocks and had 32 frames displayed alternately throughout the week. Through computer graphics capabilities, Meneghel appeared seated on a globe with a blue background filled with white clouds, and featured 14 pictures that blended entertainment and didactic elements. After many reformulations to reverse the low audience, the program came to an end on December 31, 2004. In 2003, Xuxa was nominated again to Grammy for Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 3 and took the second trophy in the same category. On June 30, 2003, she inaugurated an amusement park with her name. Mundo de Xuxa, located in São Paulo, in an area of 12,000 square meters, was the largest indoor amusement park in Latin America and has more than 18 attractions. In 2004, for the third consecutive time, she competed with the video Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos 4 in the same category. The 5th edition, Xuxa Circus, became a sales success. In 2005, the Xuxa Festa, promoted a remix of old hits. In 2012, Meneghel was again present in the Latin Grammy as the only Brazilian in the Best Children's Album category, with XSPB 11. This is already the fifth indication of the Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos series.

After successive audience defeats with Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação, TV Globo premiered TV Xuxa on April 4, 2005. The program had two distinct phases and the first was broadcast on Monday morning to the children's audience in a mix of play, dramaturgy, competition, cartoons and musical numbers presentation. The name of the program was an allusion to the fictional TV Xuxa, a television station with several attractions. The program stopped airing on December 31, 2007. With the success of XSPB, Meneghel released the audiovisual Solamente para Bajitos in Argentina in 2005. In parallel to TV Xuxa, Meneghel presented Conexão Xuxa between December 2, 2007 and January 11, 2008. The program had four teams formed by three people (one athlete, one personality and one teenager). Together, they faced various kinds of physical evidence and general knowledge in beautiful settings in the country. The teams were divided by colors: yellow, green, blue and orange. The four teams disputed an X of gold, that was worth three points; an X of silver, worth two; or a bronze X, which was worth one point. In all, there were three stages, displayed in seven editions. The two winners of the first stage and the two winners of the second contested the final part of the program. TV Xuxa returned to TV Globo grid on May 10, 2008, totally refurbished, aimed at the whole family. With new format and schedule, and different attractions, it became a weekly auditorium program, screened on Saturdays at 10am. The show ceased to show cartoons, invested in jokes, and Meneghel went on to receive her guests on a stage designed for interviews and musical numbers. In 2009 Meneghel released the film Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha, recounting what happens to the princesses after the "Happily Ever After". The film starred Sasha Meneghel in theaters and featured the participation of Hebe Camargo, Luciano Szafir, Luciano Huck, Angelica and others. The film took more than 1,300,000 people to the movies and was released in Brazil, the United States and Angola. In the musical career, Xuxa left to Som Livre, signing with Sony Music. It is estimated that the contract value was R$10 million. Xuxa released the 9th title of the Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos series, titled Natal Mágico and in 2010 the tenth edition of XSPB, entitled Baixinhos, Bichinhos e Mais, the album sold in one month the amount necessary to become the best-selling DVD of 2010 in Brazil. In 2010, Meneghel was voted Argentina's favourite Brazilian singer by the readers of the newspaper Clarín.

Xuxa performing in 2011

In April 2011, Meneghel launched the program Mundo da Xuxa on TV Globo Internacional. The attraction was shown to Brazilian subscribers on every continent from Monday to Friday and shows the best moments of her career on Globo, as well as clips from XSPB. With success in the mornings, the program TV Xuxa was transferred to the afternoons of Saturday in 2011, replacing the Session of Saturday, that suffered to leave the transmitter in the isolated leadership. TV Xuxa finally came to an end on January 25, 2014, due to Meneghel's health problems. In May 2014, after five years in Sony Music, Xuxa returns to Som Livre.

2015–present: Rede Globo exit and new phase

On March 5, 2015, after 29 years with TV Globo and having been of the air for more than a year following the end of TV Xuxa, Meneghel signed with Rede Record. Xuxa and TV Globo had amicably broken their contract in December 2014. Meneghel's arrival at the headquarters of the station was transmitted live. This was considered one of the biggest signings in the history of the transmitter, according to sites specialized in TV.

After much speculation as to what it would be and at what time it would be screened, Meneghel premiered Xuxa Meneghel on 17 August 2015 on RecordTV's Monday night. The program, screened directly from RecNov, was inspired by The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Its last episode aired on December 19, 2016.

After having its release postponed several times, Som Livre launched in December 2016, the thirteenth volume of Xuxa Só Para Baixinhos. Recorded in 2014, and expected to be released in September 2016, XPSB 13 earned Xuxa a Latin Grammy nomination, but because it was released after the deadline, it was disqualified by the Latin Recording Academy.

On April 3, 2017, Meneghel debuted the program Dancing Brasil, a Brazilian version of the American program Dancing with the Stars, produced by Endemol Shine and shown by RecordTV.

Social activism

Xuxa with then Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília in 2007.

Xuxa with President Dilma Rousseff at the Palácio do Planalto in 2014.

Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Xuxa, participate of seminar about Violence against children in Brasília.

Students of the Xuxa Meneghel Foundation during Rio+20.

In September 2011, Colombian singer Shakira and Meneghel joined forces through their respective charitable foundations to aid children younger than six years old who live in Brazil’s poorest communities. The two artists, together with Brazilian government officials, signed an accord in Rio de Janeiro for a program of cooperation. In its first four years, it plans to provide better access to education to children from 100 schools in Brazil.

Meneghel fronts the campaign "Tri-national to Combat Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents" which aims to encourage people to report cases of exploitation and abuse of minors living on the border between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Since May 2013, the campaign has integrated the actions of several groups: the Itaipu Dam, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Municipal Tourism Council, Childhood and Youth, Ministry of Labor and Employment, and entities of Paraguay and Argentina who work in the same area.

In May 2014, President Dilma Rousseff signed a law that applied stronger penalties to the crime of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. On June 4, 2014, Meneghel was present when the Senate of Brazil passed the Lei da Palmada (PLC 58/2014), which had been adopted by the Commission on Human Rights of the Chamber of Deputies. When asked about criticism from some parents about how they will educate their children after the passage of this law, Meneghel said that they can educate, but without violence: "We have to show that people can and should educate without violence".Lei Menino Bernardo, Lei da Palmada

Personal life

Fortune and investments

At the age of 16, Meneghel began to model professionally. Years later, her affair with soccer player Pelé boosted her profile and by 1982 Meneghel was considered one of Brazil's major celebrities. In the same year she obtained a supporting role in the soap opera "Elas por Elas" at Globo TV and over time had more of a role in the telenovela.

Also in 1982 Meneghel founded her first company, Xuxa Produções, a legal entity which controls her brand and represents it legally. In 1993, Xuxa Produções was responsible for the coming of Michael Jackson's Dangerous World Tour to Brazil.

At the age of 20, in 1983, Meneghel was invited to present the Clube da Criança in the extinct TV Manchete. During this time, she worked as a model during the week in New York, and recorded the show on weekends. However, the agency made her choose between career photos and walkways as a model or TV and Meneghel opted for the television show. With the success of audience of the program and the album Xuxa e Seus Amigos, which sold 500,000 copies, Meneghel was contracted by Globo TV and Som Livre. In the same year Xuxa founded the brand O Bicho Comeu, responsible for the commercialization of clothes and accessories for children.

With the initial salary at Globo TV of US$40,000, Meneghel had several increases in its salary, which in 1987 had already reached one million dollars. Also in 1987 she founded "Beijinho Beijinho Produções", responsible for the co-production of television programs and albums. Until 1988, the companies of Meneghel were directed by her father, Luís Floriano Meneghel, her mother, Alda, and her brothers Cirano, Bladimir and Solange. That year, Marlene Mattos, director of her program and lawyer Luiz Cláudio Moreira took over the companies. The Xuxa film series premiered for theaters the same year, with the film Super Xuxa contra Baixo Astral, which was watched by more than 2.8 million viewers. In 1989, Meneghel shared the title of highest-paid host in Latin America with Hebe Camargo. That year, she bought the "MG Meneghel" farm in Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro, which had three million square meters and had 50 mango trees and 200 dairy cattle. Also in 1989, the activities of the Xuxa Meneghel Foundation, which currently carries out four social development programs (Program for Networks and Political Incidence, Program for Socio-educational Actions, Integrated Assistance Program and the Institutional Partnerships Program) began. year.

By 1990 Meneghel had sold 12 million records, which had generated a turnover of more than $110 million. The movie Lua de Cristal, released this year, was watched by more than 5 million viewers and generated a profit of $5 million for Xuxa Productions. That year she founded "Xuxa International Corporation", based in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven, responsible for collecting royalties and royalties around the world. Meneghel's royalties varied between 5% and 20% of the final profit from the sale of products licensed under her brand. Meneghel made a final profit of $19 million in 1990, resulting in her appearance on Forbes' list of "Top 40 Most Enlightened Celebrities" in 1991, the first Latin American to appear on the list. The magazine reported that her fortune had already surpassed that of Madonna and was equated with that of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Also in 1990, Meneghel bought a site in Vargem Grande, in Rio de Janeiro, for two million dollars. The property underwent several renovations, adding a mini zoo and nursery, heated pool with waterfall, main house (1050 m², two floors and five suites with closet), guest house (280 m²), Japanese restaurant (195 m² bar, industrial kitchen and laundry), fitness center (196 m²), party room (540 m²), recording studio (60 m²), sauna (com 62 m²), house of the employees (283 m²), old house of the caretaker (63 m²), support cellar (67 m²), linen and storage (306 m²), garage for eight cars and helipad. With a total of 78,000 square meters, Xuxa traveled with the golf carts and this one was a refuge for the artist, which did not prevent that fans slept in the entrance of the site waiting for Xuxa. The site was called Casa Rosa was a frequent figure in television programs and specialized magazines, consequently gaining space in the popular culture, arriving to be called "Neverland" Brazilian. In 2007, with the concern of providing a social life closer to normal to her daughter Sasha, Xuxa put the site up for sale for $8 million. However, the presenter has not yet been able to sell the property, which is still part of its equity. Still in 1990 Meneghel acquired an apartment for five million dollars in New York. With a partnership with Grendene, Xuxa sold 4 million sandals in Brazil, 1 million in the United States, 1 million in Mexico and 500,000 in the rest of Latin America in 1990.

In 1991 she began her international career as a television presenter, launching the show El Show de Xuxa by Telefe, Argentina. The program was retransmitted to 17 countries in Latin America and the United States. Between 1991 and 1992 Meneghel received $1 million a month for work for the Argentine broadcaster. She launched the Xuxa Meneghel Models Course in Rio de Janeiro, with a duration of seven months and a load of six hours a week, tuition starting from $60. In 1991 Meneghel intensified the licensing of products with her brand and sold 1.5 million sandals in the United States. She bought five luxury apartments in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which earned $200,000 in rent.

In 1992 Meneghel signed a contract with the Spanish television network Telecinco for 15 episodes of Xuxa Park, receiving $240,000 per episode. Only Rede Globo, Telefe and Telecinco Xuxa received more than $3.4 million monthly. In May 1992, Meneghel's estate was estimated at US$100 million by People, making her the second-richest artist in Brazil at that time. In the same year she founded Light Beam Corporation to license her brand exclusively in the United States, selling 500,000 dolls among other products that year. Meneghel made 12 advertising campaigns per year, earning $200,000 each. She made a final profit of $27 million in 1992, resulting in her return to the list of "40 celebrities who grew richer in the last year" by Forbes in 1993, this time in 28th place. Between 1986 and 1992 Meneghel had sold 18 million discs, which had generated a revenue of over $175 million, of which she received 20%. Meneghel's Xuxa program produced four tours, including her Xuxa 89 tour, which involved ten trucks, 60 air tickets, two wagons, and two 25-ton stages with more than 150 people involved.

In 1993 she premiered Xuxa in the United States, in English. The program was broadcast by more than 100 relays in the country, including CBS and Freeform, and was also sold to more than 120 countries. Through the program, Meneghel received $7 million and launched products in more than 100 countries. So that she could rest between the recordings of the show, Meneghel bought a mansion in Calabasas, Califórnia. In September 1999 the residence was bought by American singer and actress Brandy Norwood, for $1.7 million. In the year of 1993 Xuxa handled $220 million only in licenses. At the end of the year, Meneghel suffered a spinal problem, and in 1994, the death of Ayrton Senna also contributed to her reducing her workload.

Xuxa in 2004

In 2012 Meneghel received R$2 million to participate in an advertising campaign of the beauty products brand Wella, changing the color of her hair, appearing brunette for the first time in her career. The amount was donated to the Xuxa Meneghel Foundation.

In 2013 TV Bandeirantes was condemned by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) to pay an indemnity of 1.1 million reais to the presenter. The STJ ruled that she had appeared naked on the station's show in 2008. The images had been published by Playboy before Meneghel launched herself as a children's show host in the early 1980s. The STJ, therefore, rejected the request of the issuer to rediscuss the amount of compensation established by the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ) in 2011. Also in 2013 Xuxa bought an island in Angra dos Reis, for R$12.7 million.

Xuxa at the premiere of the movie Senna in 2009.

In 2014 RecordTV was ordered to pay Meneghel R$100,000. The broadcaster was sued for broadcasting photos of the hostess in an essay performed for Playboy in the 1980s without authorization during the Gugu Liberato in 2012.

In February 2015 Meneghel refused a proposal of renewal with Globo TV, since its salary would happen of a million dollars monthly, that received from 2002, to R$250 thousand, without next projects to return to present a program. In the same month, the O Mundo da Xuxa was closed. It was sold to Parque da Mônica for R$40 million. In March, Meneghel signed with RecordTV for R$1 million monthly. In that same year the Laser Space earned R$50 million. Xuxa, as a businesswoman, had a final profit of $160 million from her companies.

Maternity and relationships

Meneghel has one daughter, Sasha, who was born in 1998. Sasha's father is actor Luciano Szafir. Meneghel dated footballer Pelé in the 1980s, and later, Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna.

She reported in 2012 that Michael Jackson had once courted her, inviting her to dinner at his Neverland estate, after which his manager asked whether she would consider having his children. She currently has a relationship with actor and singer, Junno Andrade, In 2013, her Italian nationality was recognized.

Filmography

Main article: Xuxa filmography

Television

• Clube da Criança (1983)
• Xou da Xuxa (1986)
• Bobeou Dançou (1989)
• El Show de Xuxa (1991)
• Paradão da Xuxa (1992)
• Xuxa Park (1992)
• Xuxa (1993)
• Xuxa (1993)
• Xuxa Park (1994)
• Xuxa Hits (1995)
• Planeta Xuxa (1997)
• Xuxa no Mundo da Imaginação (2002)
• TV Xuxa (2005)
• Xuxa Meneghel (2015)
• Dancing Brasil (2017)

Films

• Love Strange Love (1982)
• Fuscão Preto (1983)
• O Trapalhão na Arca de Noé (1983)
• Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz (1984)
• Os Trapalhões no Reino da Fantasia (1985)
• Super Xuxa Contra Baixo Astral (1986)
• A Princesa Xuxa e os Trapalhões (1989)
• Lua de Cristal (1990)
• O Mistério de Robin Hood (1990)
• Gaúcho Negro (1991)
• Xuxa Requebra (1999)
• Xuxa Popstar (2000)
• Xuxa e os Duendes (2001)
• Xuxa e os Duendes 2: No Caminho das Fadas (2002)
• Xuxa Abracadabra (2003)
• Xuxa e o Tesouro da Cidade Perdida (2004)
• Xuxinha e Guto Contra os Monstros do Espaço (2005)
• Xuxa Gêmeas (2006)
• Xuxa em Sonho de Menina (2007)
• Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha (2009)

Career in music

In 1986, the album Xou da Xuxa, sold over two million copies, breaking the South American record for sales, earning eight platinum awards (granted every 250,000 copies sold). In the following years, Meneghel released six discs, including Xou da Xuxa 2 and Xou da Xuxa 3, and recorded two LPs with the songs translated into Spanish, which sold 2.4 million copies.

From 1989–96, Meneghel had sold 18 million albums, a record in Latin American music sales. Meneghel recorded about 915 songs and released 28 albums that together have sold over 45 million copies, and been awarded 400 gold records in Brazil. The album, Xou da Xuxa 3, sold more than 3,216,000 copies, making it the best-selling children's album, according to the Guinness Book.

In 2002, Veja magazine named Meneghel the richest artist in Brazil, with an estimated net worth of $250 million. She was first in the list of artists with highest sales over the past ten years (1998–2008).

The music video, Xuxa só para Baixinhos sold over eight million copies, and won five nominations and two Latin Grammy awards for "Best Children's Album".

In 2012, the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPF) released the list of the best-selling DVDs in the country. According to ABPD, Meneghel had two DVDs among the top ten in 2011, XSPB Volume 1–8 (sixth place) and XSPB 11 (ninth).

Discography

Main article: Xuxa Discography

• Xuxa e Seus Amigos (1985)
• Xou da Xuxa (1986)
• Xegundo Xou da Xuxa (1987)
• Xou da Xuxa 3 (1988)
• 4º Xou da Xuxa (1989)
• Xuxa (1989)
• Xuxa 5 (1990)
• Xou da Xuxa Seis (1991)
• Xuxa (1991)
• Xou da Xuxa Sete (1992)
• Xuxa (1992)
• Xuxa (1993)
• Sexto Sentido (1994)
• El Pequeño Mundo (1994)
• Luz No Meu Caminho (1995)
• Tô de Bem Com a Vida (1996)
• Xuxa Dance (1996)
• Boas Notícias (1997)
• Só Faltava Você (1998)
• El Mundo Es de los Dos (1999)
• Xuxa 2000 (1999)
• Só Para Baixinhos (2000)
• Só Para Baixinhos 2 (2001)
• Só Para Baixinhos 3 (2002)
• Só Para Baixinhos 4 (2003)
• Circo (2004)
• Solamente Para Bajitos (2005)
• Festa (2005)
• Só Para Baixinhos 7 (2007)
• Só Para Baixinhos 8 (2008)
• Natal Mágico (2009)
• Baixinhos, Bichinhos e + (2010)
• Sustentabilidade (2011)
• É Pra Dançar (2013)
• ABC do XSPB (2016)

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Xuxa

External links

• Template:Pt icon Official website
• Xuxa Meneghel at IMDb