Rita Lee

Rita Lee Jones de Carvalho (born Rita Lee Jones; 31 December 1947 – 8 May 2023) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, writer, television presenter and activist. Known as the "Queen of Brazilian Rock", she stood out as one of the most influential figures in the country's popular music, recognised for her reinvention and versatility in musical and audiovisual production. She began her career in rock, but over the years explored psychedelia, pop rock, disco, new wave, pop, bossa nova and electronic music, promoting a pioneering hybridisation between international genres and domestic traditions. This trajectory enabled her to move beyond the underground circuit of the 1960s and 1970s and achieve widespread success with romantic ballads in the 1980s, contributing significantly to the Brazilian musical revolution.

Born and raised in São Paulo, she began her musical journey in 1963, joining the Tulio's Trio and, later, the Teenage Singers (which would become Os Seis). She rose to domestic prominence as the vocalist and instrumentalist of the Tropicália group Os Mutantes. She achieved solo stardom with the album Fruto Proibido (1975), recorded with the band Tutti Frutti and regarded as an essential milestone in the history of Brazilian rock, serving as a reference for generations of guitarists. In 1976, she established a romantic and creative partnership with the multi-instrumentalist and composer Roberto de Carvalho, with whom she co-wrote most of her repertoire. Together, they revolutionised pop music in Brazil and released a series of commercially highly successful albums, including Mania de Você (1979), Lança Perfume (1980), Saúde (1981) and Flagra (1982), the last of which is one of the best-selling Brazilian albums of all time. Her compositions, marked by sharp irony and advocacy for female autonomy, became constant presences in the charts, with songs such as "Ovelha negra", "Agora só falta você", "Mania de você", "Lança perfume", "Baila comigo", "Saúde", "Banho de espuma", "Flagra", "Desculpe o auê", "Erva venenosa", "Amor e sexo" and "Reza".

Her visibility was reinforced through year-end specials on TV Globo—Rita Lee Jones (1980), Saúde (1981), O Circo (1982) and Rita e Roberto (1985)—and through her work as a presenter on programmes such as TVLeezão (1991), Saia Justa (2002) and Madame Lee (2005). As a writer, she published nine books during her lifetime and two posthumously, with particular note for her first autobiography, which sold seventy times the average print run of a book in Brazil. She also presented radio programmes and appeared in films and series, winning the Troféu Calunga for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. A committed vegan, she defended the rights of animals, women and the LGBT community.

With more than 55 million records sold, Lee is the most commercially successful female Brazilian artist in history. A pioneer in large-scale domestic tours, she became the first Brazilian singer to perform in gyms and stadiums, attracting 500,000 spectators over a three-month period with the highly successful Tour Brasil 83. Among her distinctions are 12 Brazilian Music Awards, four APCA Awards, three Troféus Imprensa, two Latin Grammys and the honorary prize from the União Brasileira de Compositores (UBC). She was also listed by Rolling Stone Brasil among the greatest Brazilian voices and artists of all time.

Early life

Rita Lee Jones was born on 31 December 1947 in São Paulo, the youngest daughter of Charles Fenley Jones, a Brazilian-born dentist of American descent—his Confederate ancestors from Alabama and Tennessee had settled in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste after the American Civil War—and Romilda Padula, a pianist of Italian origin from Molise. Her two older sisters were Mary Lee and Virgínia Lee Jones; their father gave all three daughters the compound middle name "Lee" in honor of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Although her parents initially intended to name her Bárbara after Saint Barbara, at the baptism they chose Rita to honour her maternal grandmother Clorinda, who was known as Rita.

Lee grew up in the middle-class Vila Mariana neighbourhood, where she lived until the birth of her first child. She later described the area as holding many of her fondest memories. She attended the French-Brazilian Liceu Pasteur, becoming fluent in Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and Italian. In 1968 she briefly enrolled in the Social Communication course at the University of São Paulo alongside the future actress Regina Duarte, but dropped out the following year.

As a child she studied classical piano with Magda Tagliaferro. Initially she dreamed of becoming an actress or veterinarian; her father hoped she would follow him into dentistry. Her early musical tastes were shaped by both American rock and roll—particularly Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones—and the Brazilian classics her parents played at home, including João Gilberto, Cauby Peixoto, Angela Maria, Maysa Matarazzo, and Carmen Miranda.

In her teens Lee began writing songs and performing. She first sang in public with Tulio's Trio, then formed an all-female vocal group, the Teenage Singers, who appeared at school parties. In 1964 they merged with a male trio, the Wooden Faces, to create the Six Sided Rockers; the band soon changed its name to Os Seis and released a single. After three members left, Lee and brothers Arnaldo and Sérgio Dias Baptista continued as Os Bruxos. In 1966, shortly before their television debut on O Pequeno Mundo de Ronnie Von (TV Record), presenter Ronnie Von—prompted by a suggestion from producer Alberto Helena Júnior inspired by the science-fiction novel O Império dos Mutantes by Stefan Wul—proposed the name Os Mutantes. The trio immediately adopted it.

Musical career

1966–72: Os Mutantes and early solo albums

For six years, Lee was a core member of the pioneering tropicalista band Os Mutantes, alongside Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias. She contributed lead vocals, flute, and percussion, while occasionally playing synthesizer, banjo, and autoharp. Lee also experimented with unconventional sound sources, such as a pest-control spray pump to create effects in the track "Le premier bonheur du jour", and served as the group's primary lyricist. In 1967, Os Mutantes backed Gilberto Gil at the III Festival de Música Popular Brasileira on TV Record, performing his composition "Domingo no parque".

The band released six studio albums between 1968 and 1972. Their self-titled debut (1968) is widely regarded as a landmark of Brazilian music, blending psychedelia, tropicalismo, and avant-garde elements to produce enduring hits including "A minha menina", "Dom Quixote", "Balada do louco", "2001 (Dois mil e um)", and "Ando meio desligado". Lee married bandmate Arnaldo Baptista in 1968; the couple separated in 1972, with their divorce finalized in 1977.

While still with Os Mutantes, Lee recorded two solo albums featuring backing from her bandmates. Build Up (1970), her debut, included several songs co-written with Arnaldo; it originated as the setlist for a private corporate event organized by the Fenit company in São Paulo. The album yielded her first solo single, "José", a Portuguese-language cover of Georges Moustaki's "Joseph" (previously recorded by Nara Leão). Her second effort, Hoje É o Primeiro Dia do Resto da Sua Vida (1972), was credited solely to Lee because Os Mutantes had already released an album that year, and their Philips contract prohibited additional releases under the band name. Os Mutantes performed and recorded the material, but only Lee appeared on the cover and received billing.

Tensions arose from the dissolution of her marriage and disagreements over the band's shift toward progressive rock. Lee was expelled from Os Mutantes by Arnaldo in 1972. Accounts of the departure vary, with some early reports suggesting she left voluntarily. Lee later described the moment in her 2016 autobiography Rita Lee: uma autobiografia:

My exit from the group happened in the classic style of "the groom is the last to know"—in this case, the bride. After spending the day out, I arrived at rehearsal to find a tense, heavy atmosphere. One would look away, another stared at the ceiling, fiddling with their instrument and such. Finally, Arnaldo broke the ice, took the floor, and informed me—not in these exact words, but the meaning was the same—that I was the corpse at this funeral. "We've decided that from now on, you're out of Os Mutantes because we're going in a progressive-virtuoso direction, and you don't have the chops as an instrumentalist." A spit in the face would have been less humiliating. Instead of falling to my knees, crying and begging forgiveness for being born a woman, I made a silent, elegant exit. I left the room in dramatic fashion, packed my bags, grabbed Danny (the dog), and adiós.

In a 2007 interview, Arnaldo confirmed: "I kicked Rita out of Os Mutantes."

1973–78: Tutti Frutti and national recognition

Lee briefly formed the folk-rock duo Cilibrinas do Éden with guitarist Lúcia Turnbull. The pair performed only once, at the Phono 73 festival; a recording of the set surfaced commercially more than 35 years later. The duo soon disbanded, and Lee assembled the hard-rock band Tutti Frutti with lead guitarist Luis Sérgio Carlini and bassist Lee Marcucci. In addition to lead vocals, she played piano, synthesizer, harmonica, and guitar. Philips Records signed the group but insisted on billing them as "Rita Lee & Tutti Frutti". An initial album was recorded but shelved by the label for being "too alternative" and facing censorship issues.

The band returned to the studio and released Atrás do Porto Tem uma Cidade in June 1974. Influenced by the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, the album spawned the singles "Mamãe Natureza" (Lee's first original composition after leaving Os Mutantes), "Pé de meia", and "Menino bonito". Producer Marco Mazzola, hired without the band's consent, heavily altered arrangements—particularly on "Menino bonito"—prompting widespread dissatisfaction. At a Phonogram meeting, following reports from a label spy who had been monitoring her concerts and claimed she was unsuccessful despite strong promotion and stage equipment, Lee stood up and cursed at the executives present. This confrontation led to her expulsion from the label. In January 1975, Tutti Frutti opened the Hollywood Rock festival; the performance marked Turnbull's final appearance with the group.

Fruto Proibido (1975), blending hard rock, blues, and glam rock, was released by Som Livre in June and is widely regarded as Lee's masterpiece and a cornerstone of Brazilian rock. The singles "Agora só falta você", "Esse tal de Roque Enrow", and "Ovelha negra"—the latter hailed as a generational anthem featuring one of the era's most celebrated guitar solos—dominated Brazilian radio. This success earned Lee the moniker "Queen of Brazilian Rock" and enabled Tutti Frutti to undertake Brazil's first nationwide rock tour, spanning major capitals from north to south and concluding with the band headlining the final night of the 1976 Saquarema Festival. The album eventually sold 700,000 copies and ranked 12th among the country's best-selling records of the year.

Entradas e Bandeiras followed in 1976, produced by Pena Schmidt and yielding the singles "Coisas da vida" and "Corista de rock", alongside "Bruxa amarela" (co-written by Raul Seixas and Paulo Coelho). As Lee was absent during mixing, the result was a guitar-heavy sound dominated by Carlini. That year, she began a romantic and eventual professional partnership with musician Roberto de Carvalho, who had joined the band as a guitarist.

In August 1976, while pregnant, Lee was arrested for marijuana possession along with her manager and eight Tutti Frutti members—an incident widely seen as the military dictatorship's attempt to exemplar youth culture. She maintained that she had stopped using drugs due to her pregnancy and that the substances belonged to visitors. After being briefly paraded through police stations and held at the Hipódromo women's prison, she received support from Elis Regina, who visited and demanded medical attention for Lee's pregnancy-related concerns:

Elis wasn't a person of interest to the dictatorship—quite the opposite: she was acknowledged as the queen of the musical Olympus, and no little general would ever dare touch her. She stayed on duty there until I was medicated and the bleeding had stopped. She even ordered some food from a restaurant because she thought I was way too skinny for a pregnant woman.

Following about two weeks in detention, Lee was sentenced to one year of house arrest and a fine. She served the sentence at her parents' house in Vila Mariana, with permission to perform only at night. In her first show afterward, she appeared dressed cartoonishly as a prisoner, drawing enthusiastic support from the young audience, who threw cigarettes onstage.

Despite the success of Entradas e Bandeiras, the scarcity of shows to promote the album left Lee shaken and facing financial strain. She then released the provocative single "Arrombou a Festa" (co-written with Coelho) in March 1977, critiquing the contemporary MPB scene; it provoked some unpleasant reactions, including retaliatory graffiti reported in the press. The single ranked 13th on the list of Brazil's best-selling records that year, with over 250,000 copies sold—a record for the 7-inch format. Her son Roberto (Beto Lee) was born that month, followed by João in 1979 and Antônio in 1981.

After her house arrest ended, Lee joined Gilberto Gil for the Refestança tour, which visited eight capitals between October and November 1977. A live album documented the collaboration. In early 1978, the band embarked on a nationwide tour of Brazil, performing in large gymnasiums and twice breaking the Gigantinho record with an attendance of 16,000 people each night. Later that year, Tutti Frutti released Babilônia, which produced the hits "Jardins da Babilônia", "Eu e meu gato", and the futuristic "Miss Brasil 2000". Internal conflicts, exacerbated by Carvalho's integration into the group, led to the band's dissolution. Carlini—unhappy with his diminished role in the band he had co-founded, facing the prospect of becoming a backing musician, and having trademarked the name Tutti Frutti—departed, taking the name with him. The remaining members continued supporting Lee, who renamed the band "Rita Lee & Cães e Gatos" for the subsequent tour promoting Babilônia.

1979–83: Pop phase and partnership with Roberto de Carvalho

In 1979, after the end of the band Tutti Frutti, Lee established a compositional and stage partnership with Carvalho, forming a "dynamic duo." This collaboration marked a strategic pause before the release of new material and consolidated her definitive transition from rock to a more accessible and commercial pop style. In August of that year, the first album of the partnership was released, titled Rita Lee—popularly known as Mania de Você—and produced during the pregnancy of the couple's second child, João Lee. The album sold approximately 800,000 copies and established Lee as the first pop superstar in Brazil. The title track achieved rapid and widespread national success after being featured in a commercial for the Ellus jeans brand, while "Chega mais" gained prominence as the opening theme of the telenovela of the same name—an important promotional vehicle for Brazilian artists at the time. Still in 1979, Lee joined the cast of the special Mulher 80, broadcast by TV Globo and dedicated to the main female singers of Brazilian music, referred to as the "radio singers."

Her popularity continued to grow with the release, in September 1980, of the next album, also titled Rita Lee but widely recognized as Lança Perfume. This work represented the first significant international projection of her career, with sales exceeding one million copies in Brazil, 200,000 in Argentina, and 60,000 in France. Around this time, then-Prince Charles publicly declared that Lee was his favorite singer. By the end of 1981, Lee appeared on the cover of Exame magazine for overcoming the crisis affecting the Brazilian recording industry and was highlighted as the best-selling female singer. The album received double platinum certification from the ABPD—equivalent to 500,000 copies sold in the country—and ranked seventh on the annual list of best-sellers. The cover and booklet were photographed by Miro de Souza, who would also design the artwork for the subsequent albums. The title track topped the charts of the three main French radio stations and became the most popular Brazilian song of that year, while "Baila comigo" served as the opening theme of the telenovela of the same name. At the 17th edition of the Troféu Imprensa, Lee won in the categories of Best Female Singer and Best Song ("Lança perfume"). The promotion included a successful national tour, considered the best show of 1980 by the APCA Popular Music Award.

At the end of 1981—a period strategically chosen for Christmas shopping, a pattern maintained in the next two releases—Saúde was released, the first album credited directly to the duo. The record faced censorship due to lyrics considered contrary to "good morals," in addition to criticism of the mixing done in New York and the use of electronic drums. Despite 400,000 copies ordered in advance and a year-end special in the TV Globo series Grandes Nomes, sales fell below the label's expectations: only an additional 30,000 units by October 1982. The album received platinum certification, appeared on the Uruguayan album chart, and reached the top five in Portugal. Characterized by the typical carnival style of the partnership, the album generated national hits such as the title track and "Banho de espuma"—the latter one of the most played songs in Brazil during that period—consolidating Lee as the leading figure in Brazilian pop at the time and earning her the Troféu Imprensa for Best Female Singer once again.

In 1982, the self-titled album Rita Lee & Roberto de Carvalho, known as Flagra, was released—the second project credited to the duo. Its main singles achieved great success: "Flagra" was included in the opening of the telenovela Final Feliz, and "Cor-de-rosa choque"—revised by federal censorship due to objections to passages about female physiology—was composed especially for the Globo program TV Mulher. The album had exceptional commercial performance, receiving double platinum certification from the ABPD and silver certification from the GPPFV for 30,000 copies in Portugal. Overall, it sold two million copies and ranked third among the best-selling albums in Brazil in 1983, making Lee the biggest-selling artist in the country, behind only Roberto Carlos, and the artist who earned the most per copy sold. At the end of 1982, the duo presented a preview of the subsequent tour in two shows at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, recorded for the TV Globo year-end special O Circo. The Tour Brasil 83, held in gymnasiums and stadiums, was inspired by the Rolling Stones' 1981 American tour, which Lee and Carvalho had attended. The duo inaugurated the era of megashows led by Brazilian artists, attracting 500,000 spectators in three months—a record for national tours at the time. The production featured sophisticated set design, elaborate lighting, and multiple costume changes, configuring the largest Brazilian spectacle produced until then. It culminated in a cover of the couple for the 11 May edition of Veja magazine, with the headline "Rita, Queen of Rock." Due to the high investment in the structure, the final revenue was considered a failure, totaling approximately 80 million cruzeiros. In 1982, Lee won the Troféu Velho Guerreiro for Best Youth Female Singer, awarded by the program Cassino do Chacrinha, due to her popularity with the child and teenage audience; as a result, she dedicated Sunday concerts to children, starting the shows earlier and extending them by an additional 15 minutes. During the tour, in April 1983, Lee released the international album Baila Conmigo, consisting of Spanish-language versions of her greatest hits. The album sold 80,000 copies in Mexico in just one month and reached eighth place in Argentina. A music video for the title track was recorded in Mexico, and the song reached the top five in single sales in Argentina.

1983–90: Post-commercial peak and decline of the duo

After the end of the most successful tour of their career, Lee and Carvalho released their third album as a duo in 1983, titled Bombom. The record featured participation from Steve Lukather and Mike Porcaro of the American band Toto in its production. Its explicit content provoked strict censorship from the military regime: two tracks were scratched with a blade on initial vinyl pressings to prevent their reproduction by buyers; public performances and radio broadcasts of those tracks were prohibited, and the sale of the album was restricted to those over 18 years old. Although poorly received by the couple themselves and by critics—who considered it a fiasco—the album earned double platinum certification in less than four months after release. Amid the peak of the criticism, Lee announced that she would not release a new album the following year, a bold decision by the standards of the recording industry at the time. To avoid a complete hiatus in 1984, the label released a remix album titled Rita Hits.

In 1985, the duo performed two standalone shows: one at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, where they received the Silver Torch; and another at the historic first edition of Rock in Rio, which Lee agreed to join only to dispel rumors that she had leukemia. This performance was marked by controversy over the different treatment given to foreign and Brazilian artists—according to Lee, the national acts served as guinea pigs for sound and lighting tests, with no opportunity for proper rehearsals, which she saw as disrespectful to the pioneers of Brazilian rock—in addition to the theft of her Fender Telecaster guitar during the event. Lee also criticized her own performance, attributing it to a hangover after a night of celebration with Carvalho at the Copacabana Palace, and refused to participate in the festival's second weekend. Following her father's death and a period of personal difficulties linked to alcohol and drug use, Lee adopted a darker and more cinematic tone on the album Rita e Roberto, released in September 1985. Instead of promoting the new release with the recording of a concert for a television special, Lee pioneered in Brazil the concept of albums fully accompanied by music videos. These were shown in a year-end special for the album on TV Globo, in which she portrayed tragicomic characters in a narrative superproduction. Although better received by critics than Bombom, the work interrupted the duo's sequence of radio hits, selling just over 500,000 copies—fewer than previous releases. A decade later, the track "Vítima" gained renewed attention as the opening theme of the telenovela A Próxima Vítima.

After her contract with Som Livre ended in 1986, Lee dedicated herself, in partnership with writer Antônio Bivar, to the radio program Rádioamador, broadcast on 89 FM A Rádio Rock. Under the pseudonym Lita Ree, she wrote and hosted the show, portraying various characters. Noticing that environmental issues such as global warming, animal protection, and the risks of mining were rarely discussed in children's environments, she began her career as a writer by publishing the first book of a children's quartet, Dr. Alex, which used characters to address these topics for young readers. Later, she signed with EMI and released Flerte Fatal in May 1987. Commercially, the album performed better than the previous one, with 500,000 units pre-ordered by stores and platinum certification; the single "Pega rapaz", the most successful on the record, allowed Lee to regain airplay and chart success. Facing negative reviews, Lee broke with the press and stopped granting interviews. To focus on other aspects of her career, such as acting in film and children's literature, she and Carvalho undertook a tour that would mark the end of her large-scale shows, attracting about 250,000 attendees; the tour's video recording took place at Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, directed by Nelson Motta, and was aired as a year-end special on Rede Manchete.

In 1988, Lee published her second children's book, Dr. Alex e os Reis de Angra, which tells the story of the kidnapping of Princess Angra by evil beings intent on destroying nature to build nuclear power plants. Returning to music, Lee and Carvalho released Zona Zen in December of that year. The album received negative reviews and marked a period of strain in the partnership, causing Lee's sales to return to pre-1979 levels. Lee herself stated that it was an album she was not proud of and would have preferred not to have recorded, due to a turbulent phase in her personal life. Despite the lukewarm reception, the work earned her the first Sharp Music Award in the Best Pop/Rock Female Singer category. For promotion, they appeared on television and radio programs and released three music videos aired on Fantástico—for the title track, "Livre outra vez", and "Independência e vida". During this period, she underwent surgery to remove nodules on her vocal cords and recovered from facial injuries resulting from a car accident. In 1990, she published her third children's book, Dr. Alex na Amazônia, in which the little mouse Alex fights the villains who want to destroy the Amazon Forest through burning and deforestation, harming the animals and indigenous peoples of the region. To fulfill contractual obligations with the label, the partnership closed the decade with a self-titled album, nicknamed Perto do Fogo, whose title track was co-written with Cazuza and whose song "La Miranda"—winner of the Sharp for Best Pop/Rock Song—served as the opening theme of the telenovela Lua Cheia de Amor.

1991–04: Carvalho's return and critical acclaim

In 1991, Lee temporarily interrupted her professional partnership with Carvalho. While he traveled to London to study astrology and Kabbalah, she remained in São Paulo, dedicating herself to the acoustic guitar. Invited by radio host Tutti Maravilha to join a tribute show to Elis Regina in Belo Horizonte, she approved the result and began the acoustic tour Bossa 'n' Roll. Started in small venues, the tour expanded to gymnasiums and reached international stages, including the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. During the tour, her alcoholism — already evident within the family—intensified. Warned by Carvalho that such behavior would not be tolerated in the presence of their children, she moved to an apartment in Pinheiros and deepened her addiction, receiving support from her eldest son, Beto—who had recently finished high school—and who came to live with her to provide care. Recorded live in Campinas, the self-titled album became one of the first highly successful unplugged recordings in Brazil, anticipating the Acústico MTV phenomenon by several years. The album sold 400,000 copies, ranked fifth among the best-selling records in the country in 1992, and earned Lee the Sharp Awards for Best Pop/Rock Female Singer and Best Pop/Rock Album, as well as the APCA Popular Music Award for Best Show.

Returning to Som Livre, Lee returned to rock 'n' roll with her 1993 self-titled album, popularly known as Todas as Mulheres do Mundo. The work earned her the Sharp Award for Best Pop/Rock Female Singer; at the ceremony, she received a standing ovation and stood out as the most talked-about personality of the event. In 1995, to open for the Rolling Stones at Hollywood Rock, she underwent emergency detoxification treatment. During the performance in Rio de Janeiro, she dressed as Our Lady and sang an Ave Maria while performing the title track, in homage to the band's debut in Brazil. The gesture sparked national controversy for using Catholic iconography in a song dedicated to the appreciation of women, prompting condemnation from the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, which classified it as an affront to the religious feelings of the population. Still in that year, she resumed her collaboration with Carvalho on the A Marca da Zorra tour, the duo's first major show since the late 1980s. In 1996, she won three Sharp Awards in a single night—Best Pop/Rock Female Singer and Best Pop/Rock Album, for the live recording of the previous tour, and Best Show. To the press, she declared: "Deep down, for someone whose work has always been heavily criticized, it feels very good to finally be recognized." She also became the first woman to receive the Shell Music Award in the prize's 16-year history. A scheduled performance at the ceremony was canceled due to a severe fracture of the right mandibular condyle, caused by a fall from the balcony of her country house in Caucaia do Alto while under the influence of alcohol. The condition was resolved through surgery involving the insertion of titanium pins in the jaw and silicone application to the lips. The procedure initially impaired her speech, endangered her vocal ability, and resulted in a 40 percent hearing loss in her right ear. As a consequence of the accident, the couple formalized their civil marriage; Lee began signing as Rita Lee Jones de Carvalho and posed with her children and husband on the cover of Caras magazine.

In 1997, she was the main honoree at the tenth edition of the Sharp Awards—alongside Fernanda Montenegro at the Shell Theater Award—in a tribute that featured performances by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Ney Matogrosso, Zélia Duncan, Fernanda Abreu, and Joyce, the latter the author of the new composition "Minha gata Rita Lee". The album Santa Rita de Sampa marked one of the most anticipated returns of the 1990s; the title derived from Lee's self-designation as "patron saint of unusual things, often considered profane." The music video for "Obrigado não" caused controversy by showing the first same-sex kiss broadcast on national television, aired on MTV and Fantástico despite attempts to restrict its time slot. Lee once again received the Sharp Award for Best Pop/Rock Female Singer.

In September 1998, she released her third live album, Acústico MTV, containing reinterpretations of previous hits and two new tracks. Certified platinum in both CD and DVD formats, with 650,000 units sold, it was considered one of the best in the series. Promotion included appearances on programs such as Programa Livre and Hebe, as well as the Meio Desleegada tour, which visited several states and ended in May 1999 with a performance for 100,000 spectators at Parque Ibirapuera in São Paulo.

3001 (2000), featuring collaborations with Tom Zé and Itamar Assumpção, won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Portuguese Language Rock or Alternative Album. An international tour (2000–2001) aired as a Rede Bandeirantes special with guests Caetano Veloso, Zélia Duncan, Paula Toller, and Pato Fu. Lee recorded Beatles covers for Aqui, Ali, Em Qualquer Lugar (2001; released internationally as Bossa 'n Beatles), blending bossa nova, rock, and forró. The record reached number one in Argentina, earned platinum certification there, and led to a sold-out concert at Buenos Aires' Luna Park that was widely regarded as her consecration in the country.

Compilation albums Para Sempre and Novelas (2001–2002) followed, the latter collecting her telenovela themes. Lee joined GNT's Saia Justa (2002) alongside Fernanda Young and Marisa Orth. Balacobaco (2003) sold 550,000 copies behind the hit "Amor e sexo" and marked her return to major commercial success with a studio album of entirely new material—her first major seller since the late 1980s. In 2004, she performed for over 200,000 at São Paulo's Vale do Anhangabaú during the city's 450th-anniversary celebrations.

2007–2014: Retirement from the stage and Reza

In 2007 Biscoito Fino released the three-DVD box set Biograffiti, directed by Roberto de Oliveira. The three thematic volumes (Ovelha Negra, Baila Comigo, and Cor-de-Rosa Choque) are built around extensive interviews Lee gave for the project, interwoven with rare archival footage. She revisits her departure from Os Mutantes, stating there was no chance of a reunion "unless the money is really good, then I might change my mind," and reflects on her distance from drugs and her self-described "square grandma" phase ("If being square means being a mix of Grandma Duck and Dercy Gonçalves, then tell the people I'm in"). Each disc closes with a previously unreleased song later included on her upcoming album.

In 2010, Lee launched the Etc... Tour, which debuted in Belo Horizonte and featured several hits that had long been absent from her setlists. The production visited numerous Brazilian cities—including São Paulo, Porto Alegre, and Rio de Janeiro—and extended to Buenos Aires with a performance at the Teatro Gran Rex.

On 21 January 2012, during the opening night of a new season at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro, Lee announced her retirement from live performances, citing physical fragility. She clarified on Twitter: "I'm retiring from shows, but never from music." Her intended farewell concert took place the following week at the Projeto Verão festival in Aracaju, Sergipe. During the show, she publicly criticised the military police for their aggressive handling of the audience. Charged with contempt of authority, she was briefly detained after the performance to provide a statement but was soon released. Lee later described her remarks as having been made "in the heat of the moment" and condemned the police response as "brutal and unnecessary."

That same year, she participated in the Carnival parade of the São Paulo samba school Águia de Ouro, whose 2012 theme celebrated Tropicália. Other figures from the movement, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, joined the procession alongside veteran singers Wanderléa, Cauby Peixoto, and Angela Maria. Lee paid homage to the actress Leila Diniz.

After a nine-year hiatus from recording new studio material—her previous album having been Balacobaco (2003)—Lee released Reza (2012). It became one of the most consumed records in Brazil that year, with its lead single quickly overtaking Michel Teló's "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" to become the most-downloaded track on iTunes Brazil. The following month, the song entered the soundtrack of the TV Globo telenovela Avenida Brasil.

In November 2012, Lee returned to the stage for a one-off appearance at the Green Move Festival in Belo Horizonte, sharing the bill with Titãs and Jota Quest. During the performance, she briefly lowered her trousers and turned to the audience, generating considerable media controversy. In January 2013, she performed at the concert commemorating the 459th anniversary of São Paulo in Vale do Anhangabaú, declaring: "I'm not leaving here," in reference to her native city.

In April 2013, Lee gave a rare in-depth interview to Marie Claire magazine, identifying aging as the greatest remaining taboo for women and stating: "To age with dignity, a woman must let go. It's very complex." In March 2014, she ceased dyeing her trademark red hair and embraced her natural grey, explaining: "I want to be anonymous."

2014–2023: Final years

In my day, they said women couldn't wear pants. So I went ahead and wore them. Then they told me that to play rock you had to have balls. Well, with my uterus and ovaries, I went out and played rock anyway. They also said women weren't allowed to talk about sex and pleasure. So I went ahead and made songs about it.

In 2014 the musical Rita Lee Mora ao Lado, adapted from Henrique Bartsch's book of the same name and starring Mel Lisboa, premiered in São Paulo. Lee attended one of the performances; the sight of the singer in the audience moved Lisboa to tears. Lisboa later won the Quem Prize for Best Theatre Actress and received a congratulatory video message from Lee during her acceptance speech.

In 2015 a comprehensive box set containing twenty remastered albums from Lee's discography, together with a disc of rarities, was released. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a planned guest appearance at her son Beto Lee's concert in São Paulo was cancelled because of quarantine restrictions. Lee spent the period composing extensively and announced plans for a new studio album—her first since Reza (2012)—which was to include a punk-rock song titled "Vírus do horror" about the pandemic; the project, however, never materialised. In 2021 the Tocantins duo Anavitória released the song "Amarelo, azul e branco" from their album Cor, featuring her reciting a passage from Simone de Beauvoir; later that year she released the single "Change", a collaboration with Carvalho and electronic producer Gui Boratto that featured on the soundtrack of the telenovela Um Lugar ao Sol.

Lee's final years brought a series of major honors recognising her lifetime contribution to music. In 2016 she received the APCA Grand Critics' Prize in Popular Music for her overall contribution to Brazilian music. In November 2022 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, with tribute performances by Luísa Sonza, Giulia Be, Paula Lima, and Manu Gavassi. Two years later, Lee (posthumously) and Carvalho became the first songwriting duo to receive the UBC Prize for their body of work, in a ceremony directed by their son Beto Lee that featured reinterpretations by Fernanda Abreu, Pitty, Léo Jaime, and several younger artists.

Posthumous releases

In January 2011—one year before announcing her retirement from live performances—Lee began work on the album Bossa 'n Movies. Intended as a sequel to her 1991 live album Bossa 'n Roll, it was to feature Portuguese-language versions, written by Lee herself, of famous movie themes reinterpreted in bossa nova style. However, she prioritized the original-songs album Reza (2012) and set Bossa 'n Movies aside after recording vocals for just two tracks.

One of them, "Voando"—Lee's Portuguese version of Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci's Italian song "Volare"—was premiered by Globo's Fantástico program on 9 June 2024, thirteen years after recording. The single was released the following day, credited to Lee and Roberto de Carvalho, who served as musical producer, arranger, and sole performer on guitar, bass, programming, and keyboards. It won the 2025 Brazilian Music Awards in the Audiovisual Project category.

Death

In May 2021, at the age of 73, Lee was diagnosed with a primary tumor in her left lung during a routine examination. Doctors estimated a life expectancy of three to four months. Throughout the treatment, the cancer progressed to metastasis, requiring chemotherapy. In April 2022, new tests indicated the regression of one of the tumors—nicknamed "Jair" by herself, in reference to then-president Jair Bolsonaro—although the disease continued to advance to other organs. In February 2023, Lee was admitted to Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo in extremely critical condition. Shortly after the news was made public, her husband, Roberto de Carvalho, clarified via social media that the hospitalization was for examinations and evaluations, requesting privacy. She was discharged the following month and began receiving palliative care, with the support of two nurses. During this period, she progressively lost the ability to walk, speak, and, to a lesser extent, think. She remained in a hospital-adapted room in her apartment in the São Paulo capital, alongside Carvalho and their son João. Around the night of 8 May 2023, her condition worsened again, and Lee passed away surrounded by family at her home, at the age of 75, from lung cancer. The following morning, the family publicly confirmed her death.

Following the announcement, numerous artists paid her tribute, including Pitty, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Ney Matogrosso, Fafá de Belém, Carlinhos Brown, and Fito Páez. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decreed three days of national mourning, stating in a note: "An artist ahead of her time. She considered the title of queen of rock inappropriate, but the nickname does justice to her trajectory." Her death spurred a resurgence of her albums and books on the charts. The wake took place on 10 May 2023 at the Professor Aristóteles Orsini Planetarium in Ibirapuera Park—a location that symbolized Lee's longstanding connection to the space, making her the first person to be waked there. The farewell was planned by Lee herself, who specified the venue, the decoration, its open-to-the-public nature, and the color of her attire. Family members, close friends, and public figures such as Xuxa, Serginho Groisman, Pedro Bial, and Maria Rita offered condolences on site. The event drew approximately 6,000 fans, who lined up to pay their final personal respects, many carrying items associated with the artist, such as vinyl records and her own books. During the transfer of her body for cremation later that night, admirers chanted "Rita, eu te amo" ("Rita, I love you") and sang the classic "Ovelha negra" in farewell.

Lee had expressed a wish for her body to be cremated and her ashes scattered in her garden. Carvalho chose, however, not to fully honor this request during his lifetime, intending instead for their ashes to be mixed together; currently, they are kept at the couple's residence in a spherical urn placed atop a kind of domestic shrine.

A prophecy recorded by the artist herself on the final page of her first autobiography drew media attention:

"When I die, I can imagine the words of affection from those who detest me. Some radio stations will play my songs without demanding payola, colleagues will say I'll be missed in the music world, maybe they'll even name a dead-end street after me. The fans, those sincere ones, will wave my album covers and sing 'Ovelha negra', the TVs will already have a summary of my career ready to air on the news and a little note in some magazines' obits. On social media, some will say: 'Huh, I thought the old lady had already died, lol.' No politician will dare show up at my wake, since I never appeared on any of their platforms and I'd rise from the coffin to boo them. Meanwhile, there I'll be, soul present in heaven, playing my autoharp and singing to God: 'Thank you Lord, finally sedated.'"

According to the newspaper Correio Braziliense, Lee left an estate estimated at around 30 million reais, consisting of assets that generate copyright royalties, along with businesses, real estate, and various investments.

Repercussion

Lee's death received international coverage, appearing in English-, Spanish-, French-, and German-language newspapers, and triggered a significant surge in demand for her recorded and literary works. On the day her passing was announced, she became the most-searched personality globally on YouTube, with notable interest in Portugal, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. The following day—10 May—Lee ranked as the fourth most-streamed artist in Brazil and the sixth in Portugal on Spotify, with twelve tracks entering the top 50 of the platform's Daily Viral Songs in Brazil. The song "Ovelha negra" reached sixth place—marking her highest-ever position on the chart—followed, in descending order, by "Mania de você", "Coisas da vida", "Desculpe o auê", "Minha vida", "Saúde", "Agora só falta você", "Lança perfume", "Doce vampiro", "Reza", and "Coisas da vida (ao Vivo)". In the week of 5 to 11 May, four albums from Lee's discography entered the Weekly Top Albums Brazil on Spotify: the compilation Lança Perfume e Outras Manias led at 17th place, followed by Mania de Você at 39th, while Acústico MTV and Fruto Proibido made the top 200.

In the publishing sphere, Rita Lee: uma autobiografia (2016) became the best-selling book in Brazil between 8 and 14 May 2023, according to BookInfo data. The work also topped the overall Amazon list—the country's leading book retail platform—and the nonfiction category in Veja magazine, with FavoRita (2018) ranking in the top 10. On the PublishNews list—which tracks sales exclusively in physical bookstores—the 2016 volume reached first place in the week of 15 to 21 May. On 22 May 2023, Globo Livros released Rita Lee: outra autobiografia, which, still in pre-sale, hit fifth place among Amazon's best-sellers and rose to the top of the overall list within just three days. In Veja magazine's annual 2023 retrospective, Rita Lee: outra autobiografia headed the list of the year's best-selling nonfiction books, while the previous autobiography placed sixth. Overall, the artist's literary works have sold more than one million copies.

Other ventures

Radio

In 1986, after leaving Som Livre, Lee and writer Antônio Bivar created and hosted the late-night programme Rádioamador on São Paulo's 89 FM A Rádio Rock. Broadcasting under the pseudonym Lita Ree, she wrote the scripts and voiced multiple characters.

Literature

Children's books

Between 1986 and 1992 Lee published four children's books centred on the rat scientist Dr. Alex. She returned to the genre in 2013 with Storynhas (illustrated by Laerte) and again in 2019 with the bestseller Amiga Ursa: uma história triste, mas com final feliz, the true story of a polar bear rescued from a Russian circus.

Autobiographies and other prose

In 2016, to huge acclaim, Lee released her first autobiography, Rita Lee: uma autobiografia, published by Globo Livros. The book moved over 200,000 copies—roughly seventy times the average Brazilian print run—received widespread critical acclaim, and earned her the APCA Literature Award for Biography/Autobiography/Memoir. It was followed by the short-story collection Dropz (2017), a set of 61 illustrated tales on diverse themes; the deluxe career retrospective FavoRita (2018, co-authored with Guilherme Samora), featuring rare photos, censorship documents, and fashion highlights; the posthumously published second autobiographical volume Rita Lee: outra autobiografia (2023), a candid account of her lung-cancer battle; and the 2024 posthumous autofiction O Mito do Mito: de fã e de louco, todo mundo tem um pouco, a satirical exploration of fame, fandom, and show business.

Television and film acting

• 1977: Cameo as a photographer in the comedy show Os Trapalhões
• 1989: Played eccentric ex-wife Maria Regina ("Belatrix") in the telenovela Top Model
• 1991: Appeared as vampire rocker Lita Ree in the telenovela Vamp
• 1991: Hosted the weekly programme TVleezão on MTV Brasil
• 1997: Guest-starred as Scarlet Antibes in the sitcom Sai de Baixo episode "Presepada de Natal"
• 2002–2004: Permanent panellist on the talk show Saia Justa (GNT) alongside Marisa Orth, Fernanda Young, and Mônica Waldvogel
• 2003: Cameo as herself in the telenovela Celebridade
• 2005: Co-hosted the talk show Madame Lee with Roberto de Carvalho (GNT)
• 2010: Performed a new version of her 1985 hit "Ti Ti Ti" as the opening theme and in the finale of the telenovela remake Ti Ti Ti
• 2017: Featured in the Netflix documentary Laerte-se

Personal life

Family

In 1976 Lee began a romantic relationship with multi-instrumentalist and composer Roberto de Carvalho, who became her primary musical collaborator for the majority of her songs. They married in 1996 and had three sons: Beto Lee (1977), João (1979), and Antônio (1981). Beto Lee is a guitarist who has collaborated with his parents on stage and recordings. A vegan, Lee was a vocal advocate for animal rights.

Relation with São Paulo

Lee was born and raised in the Vila Mariana neighbourhood of São Paulo's South Zone, where she lived until age 19 in a large house on Rua Joaquim Távora. She often described the area as holding her fondest memories. During her youth she explored the city extensively—from Rua Augusta and Ibirapuera Park to Pacaembu Stadium and Interlagos—places that frequently appeared in her songs. In "Mania de Você", performed live in São Paulo, she sang "Sampa, você me dá água na boca" ("Sampa, you make my mouth water"), expressing her affection for the metropolis. For a time she lived in the Serra da Cantareira, attempting a hippie commune with her sisters.

Lee also resided in Pompeia, where Os Mutantes formed on Rua Venâncio Aires; the neighbourhood is referenced in "Ôrra Meu" ("I grab the guitar and won't let go until Pompeia screams"). Other São Paulo-inspired songs include "Caminhante noturno" (1969), "José" (1972), "Lá vou eu" (1976), "Lady Babel" (1976), "Vírus do amor" (1985), "Vítima" (1985), "Gloria F" (1985), "Brazix muamba" (1987), "Venha até São Paulo" (1993), and "Santa Rita de Sampa" (1997), evoking landmarks such as Largo do Arouche, Liberdade, Praça da Sé, the Tietê River, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, and Viaduto do Chá.

In April 2000 her dog Mike went missing in Jardim São Bento; Lee made an emotional on-air plea on SBT's Domingo Legal with Gugu Liberato, offering a reward and appearing on Programa do Jô, Pânico, Transamérica radio, and 89 FM. Musician Leandro Lehart, a neighbour, found and returned the pet, an episode that garnered widespread media attention and highlighted São Paulo's community spirit.

In January 2013, during her 50th-anniversary tour at a Vale do Anhangabaú concert for the city's 459th birthday, Lee performed wrapped in the São Paulo flag, declaring: "I love this city. I've lived here for 67 years! I'm not leaving... If it weren't for São Paulo, Brazil would be much less." Caetano Veloso immortalised her as "the most complete translation" of the city in his song "Sampa", and she was affectionately dubbed "Saint Rita of Sampa".

Lee's legacy in São Paulo endures through a 2023 mural by artists Paulo Terra, Pedro Terra, and Eraldo Moura (Gê Moura) on Avenida Domingos de Morais in Vila Mariana, depicting two phases of her career. She died on 8 May 2023, and her public wake was held on 10 May at the Professor Aristóteles Orsini Planetarium in Ibirapuera Park—a venue she called her "enchanted forest" in her memoirs—drawing thousands of fans and celebrities.

In April 2024 a bill to rename Ibirapuera Park "Ibirapuera Park – Rita Lee" was amended; Mayor Ricardo Nunes signed legislation renaming the park's former Praça da Paz as "Praça da Paz – Rita Lee". In July 2024 the São Paulo City Council approved Law No. 18,151, establishing 22 May (the feast day of Saint Rita of Cascia, which Lee symbolically adopted as her "new birthday") as Rita Lee Day.

Health

In 1996 Lee fell from the second-floor balcony of her country farm, shattering her mandibular condyle and requiring surgery to insert titanium pins. The incident prompted her to vow to quit drugs and alcohol; she entered rehabilitation in January 2006 and succeeded after attending lectures and therapy. In May 2012 she publicly revealed her bipolar disorder diagnosis, stating it brought relief: "Finally someone told me what I am. The pieces fit."

Legacy

Lee is widely regarded as the greatest figure in the history of Brazilian rock and its most successful artist, earning her the enduring title "Queen of Brazilian Rock".

Critics and scholars credit her with fundamentally shaping the genre in Brazil at a time when rock was often dismissed by the MPB establishment as a foreign threat. As Thales de Menezes wrote in Folha de S.Paulo, she emerged "during a turbulent period when rock was viewed as a 'cultural villain' by major figures in Brazilian music and arts," yet ultimately became the voice that legitimised and nationalised the style.

Academic Thiago Vieira (UNESP) emphasises her pivotal role in the Tropicália explosion of 1967, noting that Lee and Os Mutantes "broke down the walls that separated Brazilian music from foreign music" through electric guitars, experimental language, and a libertarian attitude that extended far beyond sound. He describes her as the artist who brought "a rock attitude—not just the music, but a transgressive, underground mindset" while championing women's rights in a way that aligned with global counterculture yet remained unmistakably Brazilian.

Musicologist Luiz Tatit observes that, from Lee onward, "love, marriage, and sexual desire began to be addressed from an uninhibited female perspective in Brazilian song, something no woman had done before." José Antônio Barbosa (USP), in his study of the feminine universe in Lee's lyrics, highlights the candid discourse on female pleasure and autonomy that was unprecedented for a Brazilian female composer. Feminist scholar Ana Karla Marcelino (UFPB) calls her "a remarkable representative of the fight against patriarchal ideology," while Fernando Pereira (Mackenzie Presbyterian University) argues that Lee placed everyday metropolitan femininity on the national agenda: the working woman, the divorced mother, the sexually liberated citizen.

Throughout her career Lee openly confronted taboos—abortion, homosexuality, drugs, divorce, and female desire—often facing censorship and political persecution under the military dictatorship. Her fearless public image and lyrics turned her into a symbol of emancipation, earning her both the nickname "black sheep of music" and recognition as one of the country's greatest artists.

Lee's influence extends across generations. She has been cited as a direct reference or inspiration by a wide range of Brazilian artists, including Marisa Monte, Cássia Eller, Pitty, Zélia Duncan, Paula Toller, Titãs, Daniela Mercury, Anitta, Luísa Sonza, Manu Gavassi, Preta Gil, Ana Carolina, Duda Beat, Fernanda Takai, Iza, Filipe Catto, Paula Lima, Adriana Calcanhotto, and many others.

Rita Lee: Mania de Você and Ritas

On 8 May 2025—two years after Lee's death—the documentary Rita Lee: Mania de Você premiered on HBO Max. Directed by Guido Goldberg and produced by Argentina's Mandarina Contenidos, the film presents an intimate portrait of Lee's life and career through exclusive interviews, archival footage, and testimonies from family, musicians, and celebrities including Gilberto Gil and Ney Matogrosso. A highlight is the reading of a letter Lee wrote to her family shortly before her death, reflecting on her journey and legacy.

Less than two weeks later, on 22 May—the feast day of Saint Rita of Cascia, which Lee had symbolically adopted as her "new birthday" and which São Paulo had officially designated as Rita Lee Day—the documentary Ritas opened in Brazilian cinemas. Directed by Oswaldo Santana and co-directed by Karen Harley, the film eschews celebrity interviews and biographical narration in favor of Lee's own voice, drawn from her career-spanning interviews and self-filmed home videos. It offers a personal glimpse into her reclusive later years, showcasing her garden (tended by Roberto de Carvalho), miniature collection, paintings, pet marmosets, dog, and cats. The film quickly became the most-viewed Brazilian documentary in cinemas for the year, surpassing 50,000 admissions.

Achievements

Throughout her career, Lee received numerous awards and honors, accumulating 12 Brazilian Music Awards, three APCA Popular Music Awards, one APCA Literature Award, two Latin Grammys, three Troféu Imprensa awards, and the 1996 Shell Music Award—becoming the first woman to receive that honor. She was also awarded the Brazilian Order of Cultural Merit (2003) and the Order of Rio Branco (2023), both in the rank of Commander.

Known as the "Queen of Brazilian Rock", Lee stood out as the best-selling female Brazilian artist of all time, with more than 55 million units sold. This achievement placed her fourth on the overall list of best-selling Brazilian artists, behind only Roberto Carlos, Nelson Gonçalves, and Tonico & Tinoco. Her songs ranked among the most played on Brazilian radio for two consecutive decades: "Arrombou a festa" appeared on the list of the 100 most played songs of the 1970s, while "Baila comigo", "Banho de espuma", "Saúde", and "Lança perfume"—in that order—stood out in the 1980s. During the latter decade, she ranked among the seven most played artists in the country. In addition, she holds the record for the greatest number of participations in Brazilian telenovela soundtracks, with more than 70 appearances, and was the first Brazilian artist to undertake an entire season of shows exclusively in stadiums and gymnasiums.

The album Fruto Proibido (1975) was included among the 100 Greatest Brazilian Music Records by Rolling Stone Brasil and among the Best Latin American Rock Albums by the US edition of the magazine, ranking 16th on the first list and 41st on the second. In the same publication, Lee ranked 15th among the 100 Greatest Brazilian Music Artists, placing second among women, behind only Elis Regina—a similar position on Revista Bula's list of the 31 Greatest Brazilian Artists Of All Time. She was also selected among the 100 Greatest Voices in the country by Rolling Stone Brasil, and the song "Ovelha negra" appeared among the 100 Greatest Brazilian Songs. On that list, Lee is credited as composer of three additional tracks—"Ando meio desligado", "Balada do louco", and "2001"—released during her time with Os Mutantes. In O Globo newspaper's list of the 100 Greatest Brazilian Songs, the first two tracks appear, along with "Agora só falta você" and "Mania de você"—the latter ranking 24th and standing as the highest-placed song by Lee on the list. Various biographers, writers, journalists, and media outlets have considered her one of the most influential and successful women in the history of Brazilian music.

In the field of awards, she was the main honoree at editions of the Video Music Brasil (VMB), Sharp Music Awards, Multishow Brazilian Music Awards, Woman's Music Event Awards (WME), and Melhores do Ano. In 2016, she received the Grand Prize of the Critics at the APCA Popular Music Award, in recognition of her career. In 2022, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latin Grammy. One year after her death, in 2024, the duo she formed with Carvalho received an honorary award from the União Brasileira de Compositores (UBC) for musical excellence, recognizing their musical relevance and impact over three decades since the release of Mania de Você (1979). On that occasion, Carvalho delivered a speech and dedicated the award to Lee, stating that "in every small fragment of the universe there is a small piece of Rita, in all of us and in everything."

In 2024, the São Paulo City Council established 22 May as Rita Lee Day through Law No. 18,151, published in the Official Gazette. Her name was immortalized in Praça da Paz, in Parque Ibirapuera, which was renamed Praça da Paz – Rita Lee. In the city of Jandira, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, a street in the Altos de Jandira neighborhood was named after her. In Rio de Janeiro, a park in Barra da Tijuca, integrated into the Olympic Park, was inaugurated in her honor. Also that year, Lee appeared on postage stamps issued by the Brazilian Postal Service alongside themes such as the bossa nova genre and COP30.

Discography

• Build Up (1970)
• Hoje É o Primeiro Dia do Resto da Sua Vida (1972)
• Atrás do Porto Tem uma Cidade (1974; with Tutti Frutti)
• Fruto Proibido (1975; with Tutti Frutti)
• Entradas e Bandeiras (1976; with Tutti Frutti)
• Babilônia (1978; with Tutti Frutti)
• Rita Lee (1979)
• Rita Lee (1980)
• Saúde (1981)
• Rita Lee & Roberto de Carvalho (1982)
• Bombom (1983)
• Rita e Roberto (1985)
• Flerte Fatal (1987)
• Zona Zen (1988)
• Rita Lee & Roberto de Carvalho (1990)
• Rita Lee (1993)
• Santa Rita de Sampa (1997)
• 3001 (2000)
• Aqui, Ali, Em Qualquer Lugar (2001)
• Balacobaco (2003)
• Reza (2012)

Tours

• Tutti Frutti tour (1973–74)
• Atrás do Porto Tem uma Cidade (1974–75; with Tutti Frutti)
• Fruto Proibido Tour (1975–76; with Tutti Frutti)
• Entradas e Bandeiras (1976–77; with Tutti Frutti)
• Refestança (1977; with Gilberto Gil)
• Babilônia (1978; with Tutti Frutti)
• Rita Lee 79 (1979–80)
• Lança Perfume (1980–81)
• Saúde (1981)
• Rita Lee e Roberto Tour Brasil 83
• Rita Lee e Roberto Tour 87/88
• Bossa 'n' Roll (1991–92)
• Rita Lee & Banda (1993–95)
• A Marca da Zorra (1995–96)
• Santa Rita de Sampa (1997–98)
• Meio Desleegada (1998–99)
• 3001 (2000–01)
• Yê Yê Yê de Bamba (2002)
• Balacobaco (2004)
• PicNic (2007–09)
• Etc... Tour (2010–12)

Notes

See also

• Rock in São Paulo
• List of best-selling Latin music artists
• List of best-selling music artists in Brazil

External links

• at AllMusic
• discography at Discogs
• at IMDb
• discography at MusicBrainz