Brazilian singer Anitta soared out one of Rio’s poorest neighborhoods to achieve global fame 

When Brazilian singing sensation Anitta was told by her parents that she would likely never make it as a star, it did not put a damper on her dreams – in fact, it only fueled her passion and drive even further.

The musician, now 30, has become a worldwide phenomenon in recent years – taking over the charts with her hits, collaborating with some of the biggest artists on the planet, and winning a slew of awards and accolades along the way – but she had to overcome a lot to get where she is now.

Anitta grew up in one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest neighborhoods, and due to her family’s lack of funds, she was warned from a young age that her goal of becoming a famous singer was not going to be achieved very easily.

But the songstress’ love of performing and desire to make a better life for herself was so immense – that she vowed she would do whatever it took to succeed.

But she had to overcome a lot to get where she is now. She grew up in one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest neighborhoods but was fiercely determined to make a better life for herself

And when she got involved in an abusive relationship at just 14, it drove her to want to prove the people who told her she’d never make it – including her own family – wrong even further.

The determined teen, whose real name is Larissa de Macedo Machado, hired tutors to teach her English and enlisted a speech therapist to help minimize her accent so she’d be taken seriously by executives.

As Anitta continues her conquer, FEMAIL went ahead and recapped her impressive journey from start to finish

She would perform at local parties and events, and used the money to book herself flights to the US, where she would spend days trying to network and market herself.

She also started recording videos of herself performing and uploading them to YouTube – where she eventually caught the attention of a well-known Brazilian producer. Impressed by her talent and tenacity, he then helped her land a record deal with Warner Music Group Brazil – and the rest is history.

Anitta soon became a global hit, first finding success in her home country and eventually breaking out in the US, followed by the rest of the world.

And after taking over the music industry one nation at a time, the star soon branched out into other endeavors.

She is now also a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur – launching her own music holdings company and releasing a perfume line designed for women to spray on their ‘intimate areas.’

While her catchy songs, stunning voice, and impressive dance moves definitely played a huge part in her success, Anitta has insisted that it was her ability to figure out what ‘sells’ and what people ‘like’ that helped turn her into a star.

Anitta told Harper’s Bazaar recently that it was her ability to figure out what ‘sells’ and what people ‘like’ that helped turn her into a star

From how she soared out of poverty to achieve stardom to how she managed to get her hand on the pulse of the music industry, here’s everything you need to know about the singer 

‘I dance, a** to the sky, and it sells more. People love to complain: “Oh, this person’s so vulgar.” But that’s what they like,’ she explained to Harper’s Bazaar in a recent interview. 

‘I’m a businesswoman. I’m an artist. I know how to get onstage and make everyone jump, make everyone do what I want. I know it sells.’

She also told The New York Times: ‘I don’t think I have the best voice, I don’t think I’m the best dancer. But I’m a person who puts in a lot of effort to learn and do things right. I’m very dedicated, very focused.’ 

As Anitta continues to conquer, FEMAIL went ahead and recapped her impressive journey from start to finish. 

From how she soared out of poverty to achieve stardom to how she managed to get her hand on the pulse of the music industry, here’s everything you need to know about the 30-year-old singer.

Anitta grew up in poverty and was told by her parents that she would likely never make it as a star – but her life took a cruel twist

Anitta was born as Larissa de Macedo Machado on March 30, 1993, and she grew up in a neighborhood just outside of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil called Honorio Gurgel

The musician (seen with her mom) told Harper’s Bazaar that while she always dreamed of being a star, her parents didn’t think she’d make it because of their lack of funds

Anitta was born as Larissa de Macedo Machado on March 30, 1993, and she grew up in a neighborhood just outside of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil called Honorio Gurgel.

While chatting with Harper’s Bazaar earlier this month, the musician admitted that her family had very little money during her childhood – and that while she always dreamed of being a star, her parents didn’t think she stood a chance of making it because of their lack of funds.

‘People would say [the town I grew up in] was the ghetto, it’s like the hood,’ she explained.

‘I used to say, “When I’m old, I’m going to get rich. We’re going to have a pool. We’re all going to be at the pool.”

‘Everyone was like, OK. They didn’t want to disappoint me, but they knew that was not even close to being real… But I was so sure. I could tell.’

She also told the Times: ‘Growing up, my father would say, “We’re poor, you can’t study the arts.”‘

Her love of performing began at age seven after her maternal grandparents convinced her mom to put her in the local choir.

But it was the horrific sexual assault that she endured as a teen that truly pushed her to want to become a star.

She said, ‘I used to say, “When I’m old, I’m going to get rich,” adding: ‘Everyone was like, OK. They didn’t want to disappoint me, but they knew that was not even close to being real’

Her love of performing began at age seven after her maternal grandparents convinced her mom to put her in the local choir

But it was the horrific sexual assault that she endured as a teen that truly pushed her to want to become a star. She’s seen during her childhood

She explained during her Netflix special that she was abused by someone she was dating from age 14 to 15, and after leaving the relationship, she knew she had to make a better life for herself.

She explained during her Netflix special that she was abused by someone she was dating from age 14 to 15, and after leaving the relationship, she knew she had to make a better life for herself. She’s seen as a kid

‘I transformed what happened then into something that helped me come out on top, in a better place’ she said.

‘For all of you asking yourselves how Anitta was born, that’s how. She was born out of my desire and need to be a brave woman. 

‘One who no one could ever harm, who no one could ever bring to tears, whose feelings no one could ever hurt, who could find a way out of any situation … that’s how I created that character.

‘When I created my character, Anitta, I just wanted this woman that nobody could f*** with. 

‘Because in the moment, you still blame yourself, you think that if you behaved differently, that wouldn’t happen to you.’

The singer added to the Times that her stage name was inspired by a character in the 2001 TV show Presença de Anita, who she described as ‘romantic, sensual, intelligent and crazy all at once.’

Determined to leave her poverty-stricken town and prove everyone wrong, Anitta hired tutors and speech therapists to teach her English

Breaking into the industry was not easy for Anitta – but the fiercely determined teen did everything in her power to make her dreams come true. She’s seen as a kid

Anitta (seen throughout her childhood) once recalled performing at parties and events throughout Brazil on the weekends and flying to the US during the week to try to network

Breaking into the industry was not easy for Anitta, but the fiercely determined teen did everything in her power to make her dreams come true.

She once recalled performing at parties and events throughout Brazil on the weekends and flying to the US during the week to try to network and make connections.

All the while, she was taking English lessons, and enlisted a speech therapist to help her minimize her accent so that she’d be taken more seriously by music executives in the US.

‘I realized that if I spoke slower in meetings or with an accent, people would respect me less,’ she told the Times.

And her hard work paid off. She also started recording videos of herself performing and putting them on YouTube, and when esteemed producer Renato Azevedo came across some of them, he asked her to record some demos with him.

Those demos soon caught the attention of independent label Furacão 2000, who signed her in 2010 and helped her release her first single, Eu Vou Ficar.

She released a few more songs with Furacao 2000, before ultimately landing a record deal with Warner Music Group Brazil in 2013. 

She then dropped the song Meiga e Abusada – which was immensely popular in Brazil and quickly propelled Anitta into the spotlight.

She started recording videos of herself performing and uploading them to YouTube – where she caught the attention of a well-known Brazilian producer. She’s seen in 2013

Impressed by her talent and tenacity, he then helped her land a record deal with Warner Music Group Brazil – and the rest is history. She’s pictured in 2013

Her self-titled debut album was released in June of that year, and it contained her second big hit, Show das Poderosas – which went on to become the third most played song on the radio in Brazil during 2013.

She dropped her second LP, Ritmo Perfetio, in 2014, followed by a third, entitled Bang!, the next year. And it was the lead single off the latter, which had the same name, that launched her into stardom outside of Brazil.

The song quickly took over radio stations all over the world, and after that, the opportunities came pouring in. 

She then hosted the Brazilian music show Música Boa Ao Vivo and was featured on the remix of J Balvin’s song Ginza.

In 2016, she was invited to perform at the Olympics opening ceremony in Rio, and in 2017, she teamed up with rapper Iggy Azalea to release her first full English-speaking track, called Switch.

While speaking to Numero magazine last year, the artist admitted that she struggled to be taken seriously for her work early on in her career, especially due to the sexual nature of some of her songs and videos. 

But she explained that her ‘honesty’ and ‘authenticity’ are what helped her make it big in the end. 

‘When I started out, I encountered quite a lot of problems with respect to the way people looked at me, because I dressed very sexily,’ she explained.

She has now released five studio albums in total and has continued to dominate the charts in Brazil – and all around the world. She’s seen last year 

‘Journalists and members of the public were sometimes very judgmental… Brazil is a very conservative country, even if this is a totally hypocritical attitude. 

‘Many Brazilians hide what they really do in order to project a virtuous image. That can turn out to be very dangerous: is it better to tell the truth and risk upsetting a few people or to live a life of lies and disappoint absolutely everyone the day you’re unmasked? 

‘By insisting on honesty, by remaining authentic, I’ve gained credibility in Brazil.’

She has now released five studio albums in total and has continued to dominate the charts in Brazil – and all around the world.

Anitta has made music with a slew of other big artists over the years, including Rita Ora, Major Lazer, Madonna, Luis Fonsi, Ozuna, Black Eyed Peas, Quavo, Pharrell, Missy Elliot, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, Cardi B, and Maluma.

She was also featured in her own Netflix docuseries, called Vai Anitta, in 2018, and has racked up numerous awards and accolades for her work.

She’s broken many records with her music – like in 2021, when her Spanish single Envolver topped Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart and made her the first Brazilian artist and first Latin artist to do so.

She also made history with her latest album, Versions of Me, which earned the highest debut by a Brazilian artist on iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify in the US.

In 2022, Anitta became the first Brazilian to ever perform at Coachella music festival, and she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammys.

Anitta soon branched out into other industries, becoming a successful model and businesswoman – and the singer even got heavily involved in Brazilian politics

Anitta’s achievements have spanned across other industries too. In addition to her impressive music career, she is also a successful model. She’s seen at the 2023 Met Gala

She has worked with a series of big brands like Adidas, Samsung, Burger King, Cheetos, lays, Pepsi, Target, The Sims, and Tiffany & Co. She’s seen at a Tiffany & Co. event earlier this year

Anitta’s achievements have spanned across other industries too. In addition to her impressive music career, she is also a successful model and has worked with a series of big brands like Adidas, Samsung, Burger King, Cheetos, lays, Pepsi, Target, The Sims, and Tiffany & Co.

She is also a successful businesswoman, and founded her own holding company for music in Brazil and became the Head of Creativity and Innovation at the wine brand Skol.

She made headlines last year, when she released her own perfume – called Puzzy – which is designed to be sprayed on the ‘on the external genital area and/or underwear.’

‘Made especially for those who have a lot of attitude and know what they want,’ its website reads.

The musician is also heavily involved in politics. Back in 2018, she faced backlash online for not speaking out about the controversial election of far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

Afterwards, she made it her goal to become more knowledgeable regarding political issues.

‘When we are born into the type of reality that I was in my country, we don’t get the motivation to understand politics,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar.

The musician is also heavily involved in politics. Back in 2018, she faced backlash online for not speaking out about the controversial election of far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro

She then made it her goal to learn about political issues. She said: ‘When we are born into the type of reality that I was, we don’t get the motivation to understand politics’

‘We vote not knowing s*** about it, not knowing whatever the f*** we are doing. And that’s what [politicians] want, because then it’s easier to play with us.’

She also told the Times: ‘I didn’t understand anything. I didn’t know what a congressman does or what a councilman does. I’m not ashamed to say it because most Brazilians don’t.’

Since then, she has spoken out against Jair on numerous occasions. And during the country’s 2022 election, she heavily supported candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who ultimately won.

‘When you have a lot of visibility, people listen to you. To me it seemed important to use my fame to start a discussion on key subjects,’ she told Numero at the time. 

‘If I see that my country is behaving badly, which is the case right now with our president, the least I can do is to get involved in the debate.’

While Anitta has been very honest about her journey, there is one thing that she was not open about at first – her sexuality.

The star told the Times she has been bisexual as long as she could remember, but it took paparazzi catching her locking lips with a woman for her to come out to the world.

Anitta is openly bisexual and considers herself a ‘feminist.’ She said: ‘I believe feminism is a [matter] being able to decide who you want to be, regardless of what others think’

As for what’s next for the singer, she’s said she doesn’t like to focus too much on the future. ‘I’ve accomplished so much more than I ever thought I would,’ she gushed

Anitta said that while she spent years hiding her sexuality from her fans, the incident inspired her to be more open about it. 

‘It was complicated because it was all very taboo at the time,’ she recalled to the Times. ‘But my mom has known that I kiss girls since I was 13, why should I care what other people think?’

Anitta told Numero that she considers herself a ‘feminist.’ She explained: ‘I believe feminism is a question of freedom, of being able to decide who you want to be, regardless of what others think. 

‘Women are still far too often told what to do, how they should behave and what they should or shouldn’t say. 

‘We should be able to do what we like without harm or prejudice. If I like a garment then I’ll wear it. If I want to have plastic surgery then I’ll do it.’

As for what’s next for the singer, she’s said she doesn’t like to focus too much on the future.

‘I’m not going to overthink things. I know what I want to do: if things work out, great,’ she concluded to the Times. ‘If they don’t, that’s also great.

‘I’ve accomplished so much more than I ever thought I would. If I fell asleep now and woke up at 40, I’d still feel like I’d done what I set out to do.’