Zuzu Angel

zuzZuzu Angel was born Zuleika Angel Jones in Curvelo, Minas Gerais on June 5, 1923. In the 1950s Zuzu was living in Rio de Janeiro and working as a seamstress to support her two children, Stuart Angel Jones and Hildegard Angel. Over the next 20 years, Zuzu would develop her small tailoring business into an internationally recognized brand: Zuzu Angel with a trademark angel imprint as her logo. She dressed the likes of Joan Crawford, Kim Novak, and Liza Minelli as well as many prominent Brazilian women. She often defended fashion from being derided as a “frivolous” concept, calling it “communication” and a source of income for many people.

In the 1970s, the disappearance of her son Stuart Angel Jones, a political activist and 2012070691729guerrilla fighter in the revolutionary group MR-8, consumed Zuzu’s life. Upon inquiring of her son’s whereabouts, she received a letter from a political activist, Alex Polari, who was imprisoned and held in close proximity to Stuart Angel. The letter gave an extensive account of her son’s torture and death. She fought endlessly to get justice for her son and to increase awareness of the excesses of the military dictatorship. Zuzu Angel’s daughter Ana Cristina Angel has continued to speak out against the excesses of the regime.

In April 1976, Zuzu Angel died in a car accident reported to be the result of exhaustion. Although there was much speculation by the left that her death was politically motivated, the Division of Security and Intelligence (DSI) reported she fell asleep at the wheel due to a long day of filming and promoting content related to her fashion line. It would be another decade until public officials acknowledged the possibility of political connections to her death. Singer Chico Buarque wrote a song about her story, Angélica. 

Some of Zuzu Angel's designs

Some of Zuzu Angel’s designs

Watch the trailer for the film version of Zuzu Angel‘s story