TV Host Fernanda Lima Says She has Suffered Prejudice "for Being Blonde"

12/23/2013 - 09h12

It was 11:30 a.m. last Tuesday. In the apartment of Fernanda Lima, 36, and Rodrigo Hilbert, 33, in Rio de Janeiro, the smell of the lunch being prepared for their twins, João and Francisco, 5, fills the room.

The kitchen and living room are open-concept. There are 110m2 without an en-suite bathroom. The big advantage is the location: Delfim Moreira Avenue, in front of the ocean, in Leblon, the neighborhood famous for having the most expensive square meter in Brazil (US$ 9000).

Wearing a t-shirt that says "animals are friends," Hilbert, who hosts a cooking show on GNT, prepared the meal. By choice, the couple decided not to have a nanny. There is a cleaning lady who takes care of everything, and that's it.

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The spirit of the living room's décor, where they receive friends like Gloria Maria and Leo Jaime, is stripped-down luxury. There is a set of the famous soft armchairs by Brazilian designer Sergio Rodrigues. A painting by Dudi Maia Rosa, another by Felipe Cama. There are no rugs. On the bench below the big window, an organ, a skateboard and half a dozen yoga mats. On the table beside the sofa, statues of Buddha and Ganesh (Hindu deity) and a scented candle.

Then the front door opens and Fernanda Lima comes in with the two boys. She is wearing sneakers, tight jeans and a shirt. She had already gone to the supermarket. After shopping, she took the kids to get their hair cut - the three of them on the same bike.

She smiles and asks reporter Morris Kachani for some time to put on makeup. She warns: "I can't handle being cute. My sense of humor is bitter." Could it be? Minutes later, it is time to eat. "Me-ri-to-cra-cy," she says to João and Francisco, as they sit at the kitchen counter. "Meritocracy," they repeat. "To chew gum," their mother asks. "We'll have to eat lunch!" the children answer.

It's the boys' last day of school On Wednesday, they'll all leave for holidays in Hawaii. There will be time to meditate on big transformations that happened in 2013, the year that Fernanda "rocked" like no other. But it was the year 36-year-old Gisela Matta, who coproduced "Amor & Sexo," hosted by Fernanda, died. Fernanda was also hit by a bus that same year, when she left her apartment on her bike after Easter lunch.

The show is in its seventh season on Globo. It registered an average audience of 16 points this year, with 46% of participation in households. Two weeks ago, however, the former model put herself in the international spotlight. She was called a "goddess," a "muse" and an "angel" on account of the presentation of the World Cup keys in Costa do Sauipe, Bahia. She wore Louboutin shoes and a low-cut, body-hugging Hervé Leger dress. She shone next to her husband.

Fernanda says she was surprised by the reaction. "Rodrigo did as well as I did, I don't understand," she says, referring to the fact that only she received compliments. "One day after the draw, I spent three hours crying in bed. A sadness that came from being away from the boys. While the world extolled me, I had to be well to shoot the show ["Amor & Sexo"] on TV."

Recording the controversy over racism unleashed by the fact that FIFA swapped Camila Pitanga and Lázaro Ramos for her and Hilbert as hosts, Fernanda says: "I had been called six months ago. What I know is that Globo had a casting for FIFA, who chose us. We had already chosen the emblem of Brazil in South Africa in 2010.

"Anyone who know me knows what I'm like. I prefer to let it pass, let time speak for itself. I have lots of black friends and acquaintances," she says.

"But it's obvious that there is colour prejudice in Brazil," she continues. "Incidentally, I have also been a victim of prejudice. For being a model, for being blonde." According to Fernanda, the sofa test (in which powerful directors seduce young girls who aspire to work in entertainment) is not a myth - it really does happen. "I've seen it all. And I always preferred the long road."

The conversation moves to "Amor & Sexo," which talks about the two topics on primetime TV. "It's hard to write this show because people cannot be offended by it; it's a family show."

For her, Brazilian sexuality, in practice, is "mixed." "The freedom of the body, dance, funk, helps our sensuality blossom. But this is just on the surface. In bed, it's different. Deep feelings are more precarious."

"The discovery of women's pleasure is very new. She is at ease and is even evaluating men, but so much more can be discovered." As for the man, "he says he gets some, pulls women's hair, has sex with everyone - because of gossip, we know about our neighbor's performance."

And how are the love and sex in Fernanda's life? "Thanks God I am able to reconcile the two," she says. "But of course I've done a lot of crazy things." What kind of crazy things? "Within a normal parameter. Let's say, more quantitative and less qualitative. Like having sex on the first night," she says. "I'm not as modern as I look. I'm quite conservative in some ways." She says she has never watched pornographic movies. "It's never been my fuel."

In adolescence, she thought she was ugly. Today she considers herself pretty "for what she is." She gets hit on "with some frequency." "More of the conventional, those usual lines. When it's in a polite and intelligent way, we feel flattered."

She says she has never used drugs and does not drink. "I don't like getting out of control."

With stops and starts, Fernanda and Rodrigo started dating in 2002. "We have a beautiful story." In a period of crisis, she became involved with Ricardo Waddington, who now directs her show. "We turned that love into a friendship and partnership," she says. Waddington melts: "She will certainly be one of Globo's main communicators in the coming years."

Professionally, 2014 will start for Fernanda on Jan. 13, when she hosts the FIFA Golden Ball, an event that elects the best player of 2013, in Switzerland. She also plans on opening a franchise in Iguatemi mall of the restaurant Maní, of which she is a partner in São Paulo.

Globo's plans are still uncertain. A new season of "Amor & Sexo," another afternoon program, and participation in the Cup's programming are on the horizon. Not bad for the former gaúcha model who, seven years ago, was scorned as the protagonist of "Bang Bang," a 7-o'clock novela that skated onto the Carioca station, also directed by Waddington.

Translated by JILL LANGLOIS

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	Daniel Marenco/Folhapress
	"I can't handle being cute. My sense of humor is bitter," says Fernanda Lima