It’s hard to believe we were introduced to the characters of Love Actually 21 years ago. Though they’ve been in our hearts for two decades, there are some things we still don’t know about the actors
It’s hard to believe it’s been over two decades since we were first introduced to Love Actually.
The Christmas classic has since found a special place in many people’s hearts, but there’s something wild you may not realise about one of the characters. Aurelia, who falls in love with Jamie, played by Colin Firth, is actually quite a famous singer.
Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz, who took on the role, actually represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest way back in 1996. The Portuguese singer and actress has also released five music albums to date.
Now with just one week until the big day, people have been left in disbelief on TikTok after footage of the contest resurfaced in a video online. While some didn’t have a clue that she took part, others admitted it was their “favourite” Portuguese entry.
Though famed for her role in the Christmas classic, she actually placed sixth out of 23 contestants when she took part in the celebrated music contest. Moniz remains one of Portugal’s second most successful participants to date.
Every Christmas, film lovers swoon when her Love Actually character, Aurelia, falls into the arms of Firth’s Jamie after an unexpected romance blossoms. Her character only speaks Portuguese, while Firth’s only speaks English, yet they still manage to fall in love by the end of the film.
It was her first big international break, and one that many people probably still remember her for. Nonetheless, the actress has gone onto have a successful and varied career.
Back in 2011, the design work for a cookbook created by Moniz was awarded a Gourmand Award. As well as this, a book of her photographs, titled Vou Tentar Falar Sem Dizer Nada, was published two years later.
In 2017, much to the delight of many, Moniz reprised her role from Love Actually in aid of Comic Relief. The short-film sequel was made to raise money for the charity, and it brought many of the film’s much-loved stars back together.
Then, in 2021, she won the Best Performance award at the Raindance Film Festival after she took on the role of a struggling mother of a deaf child in a 2020 film called Listen.