Tamara Duarte
Actress
Born in Toronto.
Lived in Mississauga.
Based in Las Vegas.
I have played Latin, Aboriginal, Italian, or caucasian. I really wish there were more roles to represent our community. It’s part of who I am. It’s my culture. It’s how I grew up – Tamara Duarte.
Tamara Duarte fell in love with acting in Toronto’s Portuguese community clubs, where she and her sisters performed in the theatre troupes. Since she was 18 years-old, Duarte has starred in many films and television drama series, including Wynnona Earp, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Longmire.
Biography
Tamara Duarte was born in Toronto in 1991. Her parents were immigrants who met in Toronto in their late teens; her mother coming from Terceira, Azores, and her father from Brazil. Together they had four children. Growing up, Tamara visited her extended family in Terceira every Summer and still maintains a strong connection to the island. When Tamara was 5 years old, the family moved to Mississauga, in an area with few Portuguese-Canadians. Her parents owned a cleaning company where Tamara sometimes helped when she turned 9 years old. In Mississauga, she attended St. Francis of Assisi elementary and Iona High schools.
Tamara’s love for acting started in Portuguese community’s amateur theatre groups, first by watching her sisters perform at the Angrense Club in the Little Portugal neighbourhood. She later began acting at the Vitoria Setúbal Community Club, with which she toured in Ottawa, North Bay, and Quebec to perform in Portuguese community halls. Tamara got an agent when she was 14 years-old and started doing a few TV commercials. After finishing high school, Tamara moved back to Toronto and settled in Euclid Avenue. She began pursuing a career in film and television, which she combined with her undergraduate studies in marketing at the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto. Tamara was first casted for the 2007 film My Soul Reflection. Since then, she has starred in over 25 films and television drama series, including the popular Wynonna Earp (as Rosita), Degrassi: The Next Gen (as Charlie), and Longmire (as Mandy).
Tamara moved to Las Vegas in 2015, where she lives with her husband and two children.
Hora dos Portugueses