Claudia Raia reveals teenage assault while starring in musical “Tarsila”

Brazilian actress Claudia Raia, 59, recounted in a podcast interview that she was sexually assaulted at age 13 while staying with a family‑trusted choreographer in New York after receiving a scholarship from the American Ballet Theater. She described defending herself by striking the man’s head, after which she fled the house and later received help from a modern‑dance teacher.

Raia is also the lead of the musical “Tarsila,” in which she portrays modernist painter Tarsila do Amaral. The production opened at Rio de Janeiro’s Theatro Municipal and is touring major Brazilian cities, including Belo Horizonte and São Paulo, with a return run scheduled at Vivo Rio. The show celebrates Brazil’s modernist heritage and features music by Guilherme Terra and lyrics by José Possi Neto and Anna Toledo.