Tim Bergfelder is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Southampton. He is one of the editors of the journal Screen, an editorial advisory board member for Transnational Cinemas and Cinema&Cie, and a co-editor of Berghahn's `Film Europa' series. His publications include Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination: Set Design in 1930s European Cinema (2007) and Destination London: German-Speaking Emigres and British Cinema, 1925-1950 (2008).Lisa Shaw is Reader in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at the University of Liverpool. She is author of The Social History of the Brazilian Samba (1999) and Carmen Miranda (2013). She is currently completing a monograph entitled Tropical Travels: Brazilian Popular Performance, `Race' and Transnational Encounters, 1880s-1950s, for which she was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship.Joao Luiz Vieira is Professor of Film and Video at the Federal Fluminense University, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. He has a doctorate in Cinema Studies from New York University and has held fellowships at the University of New Mexico the University of Iowa. Among his publications are Cinema Novo and Beyond (1998) and Camera-faca: o cinema de Sergio Bianchi (2004).

"The strength and originality of this tightly edited volume lie in its historical perspective and comprehensiveness. Each chapter works well on its own, but also forms part of a larger design, and the editors have done an excellent job in mapping the terrain of stardom in Brazil over a century. I know of no other volume, focused on the cinemas of Latin America, that attempts the same chronological range, from early cinema to the present day." * John King, University of Warwick

• IntroductionLisa Shaw and Tim BergfelderChapter 1. Consuming visions: female stars, the melindrosa and desires for a Brazilian film industryMaite CondeChapter 2. A star system created by fans: Pernambucan cinema in the 1920sLuciana Correa de AraujoChapter 3. A star in the spotlight: Carmen Santos and Brazilian cinema of the 1920sAna PessoaChapter 4. Carmen Miranda: from national star to global brandAna Rita Mendonca and Lisa ShawChapter 5. Cinelandia magazine and the creation of home-grown movie stars in the 1950sLisa ShawChapter 6. Oscarito and Grande Otelo: 'the terrible twosome'Joao Luiz Vieira and Leonardo MacarioChapter 7. Eliane Lage: a falling star in the skies of the TropicsAna Carolina de Moura Delfim MacielChapter 8. Radio stars on screen: critiques of stardom in Moacyr Fenelon's Tudo azul (1952)Luis Alberto Rocha MeloChapter 9. Jece Valadao, the 'charming crook': a star image between tradition and modernityRafael de Luna FreireChapter 10. Jose Mojica Marins versus Coffin Joe: auteurism and stardom in Brazilian cinemaLaura CanepaChapter 11. As loiras: Brazil's screen blondesStephanie DennisonChapter 12. A star is born: the rising profile of the non-professional actor in recent Brazilian cinemaCharlotte GleghornChapter 13. The black body reframed: Lazaro Ramos and the performance of interracial loveBen HoffChapter 14. Seu Jorge as a cross-media star: from local authenticity to global appealKatia Augusta MacielChapter 15. Latin lover or Latin(o) loser? Rodrigo Santoro and the Hollywood stereotypeDaniel O'BrienNotes on ContributorsBibliographyIndex