Before Virginia: 4 Carnival muses who also made headlines

Virginia Fonseca was crowned queen of the Grande Rio drum corps this Saturday (20), receiving the title from Paolla Oliveira, who held the position in recent years and will now be the honorary queen of the drum corps. Since the announcement of the influencer’s choice to replace the actress, there have been criticisms from both celebrities and unknown individuals about the decision of the group. But it wasn’t just Virginia who caused controversy as a Carnival muse. Remember other cases below:
Luma de Oliveira Sister of Ísis de Oliveira, who shone in Globo soap operas in the 1980s, Luma de Oliveira rose to fame after standing out in the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. She did various photo shoots for men’s magazines, featuring on the cover of Playboy five times. Moreover, she appeared in Globo soap operas, such as Hipertensão, O Outro, and Meu Bem, Meu Mal. Married to businessman Eike Batista from 1991 to 2004, she sparked controversy by parading at Tradição with a collar bearing the name of her then-husband at the 1998 Carnival. In a 2023 interview, she denied that the controversial look was a sign of submission to her then-husband. Luma also expressed being surprised by the reaction to the incident. Currently 64 years old, she can be seen on social media and recently turned down an offer to be the Queen of Viradouro at the 2026 Carnival. The school will pay tribute to Mestre Ciça, who invited the muse to lead the drum corps alongside him. She explained that she declined because she would share the media spotlight with the honoree, wanting all the attention to be exclusively on him.
Ana Paula Minerato Ana Paula Minerato took part in the first edition of Miss Bumbum in 2011 but became famous after joining the Pânico group as one of the Panicats in 2013 and becoming a muse of Gaviões da Fiel. Furthermore, she participated in two seasons of the reality show A Fazenda, finishing as the runner-up in 2015. Now 34 years old, she was indicted for racism last year, following various racist comments against singer Ananda from the group Melanina Carioca, who was dating Ana Paula’s ex, the rapper Kt Gomez. After the incident became public, she was fired from Band, where she had a program on Band FM, lost her position as a samba school muse, and faced police indictment in Rio de Janeiro and a lawsuit from the singer.
Fabíola de Andrade Fabíola de Andrade has been the drum corps queen of Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel since last year. She is the wife of the bicheiro Rogério Andrade, the patron of the group. Before taking on the role, she made headlines when an intimate video was leaked in 2019. The video showed her engaging in sexual activities with three of her security guards, which was a fantasy of hers and her husband’s. The muse stated that when the video leaked, she couldn’t leave the house due to embarrassment. Eventually, she addressed the issue by stating that she owed nothing to anyone. During this year’s Carnival, she caused a stir once again by wearing a costume with the initial of her husband, who has been incarcerated since October 2023.
Thay Magalhães Thay Magalhães stormed through Paraíso do Tuiuti in 2022 like a hurricane. Even before the parade, she announced that would be her first and last year in the role. The dentist was compared to the queen of the drum corps, Mayara Lima, and was accused of allegedly buying the position and not attending rehearsals regularly. She was booed during the parade. According to Veja magazine, within the samba world, the commentary was that her rejection was due, among other reasons, to her being a declared Bolsonaro supporter – Tuiuti is one of the biggest critics of the former president. Mayara eventually assumed the position from the following Carnival, where she remains to this day.