Rita Lee Jones, a Brazilian rock singer, composer, and writer, died on May 8, 2023, at the age of 75.

Rita was a member of the Brazilian band Os Mutantes and a renowned personality in Brazilian entertainment. She was born on December 31, 1947, to parents Charles Fenley Jones and Romilda Padula Jones.

Rita’s father was of American-Brazilian descent, and her mother was Brazilian but of Italian origin.

What work did Charles Fenley Jones do?

Riata’s father was a dentist.

What work did Romilda Padula Jones do?

Rita’s mother was a pianist.

Rita Lee’s legacy

Rita rose to prominence in the 1960s with the band Os Mutantes, which she co-founded with Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias, performing with Brazilian pop music icons such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso to international recognition.

After being kicked out of Os Mutantes by her husband, Baptista, due to alleged artistic disagreements, Lee joined the band Tutti Frutti in the 1970s.

That band disbanded near the end of the decade, prompting Lee to launch her solo career, and she frequently performed with her husband, Roberto de Carvalho, the father of her three children.

She has sold over 55 million records globally.

Aside from her singing career, Lee hosted the Brazilian radio show Radio Amador for nine months in 1986. That same year, Lee published three children’s books and performed in several Brazilian films and television series.

TvLeeZo (a play on “televiso,” the Portuguese term for television), her own discussion show, debuted on MTV Brasil in 1990.

She hosted the Brazilian cable TV conversation show Saia Justa from 2002 until 2004.

Her life story Rita Lee: Uma Autobiografia was Brazil’s best-selling nonfiction book of 2017.