Maria Barroso

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Maria de Jesus Simões Barroso Soares, GCL (born Fuzeta, 2 May 1925) is a Portuguese actress.

She is the wife of former President Mário Soares, whom she married in 1949, with whom she has one daughter and one son, João Soares; although not as politically involved as her husband, she was a founding member of the Socialist Party. She is the President of the Aristides Sousa Mendes Foundation and Pro Dignitate Association. She was the head of the Portuguese Red Cross for several years. She was a member of the National Theater Company and one of the most famous theater and cinema actress in Portugal. Recently she read the poetry of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen at the Unesco for an homage to Aristides Sousa Mendes, where baritone Jorge Chaminé participated also. She converted to Catholicism, in 1989.