Big Brother Brasil is a huge showcase for future national successes. For 21 years, characters from each edition have been awarded with – more than the R$ 1,5 million prize – a visibility that guarantees them to walk the path of fame. This year, it is Juliette Freire’s turn!
Talkative, charismatic and with a very strong personality, the 31-year-old lawyer from Paraíba conquered Brazil in the first weeks of the game and, now, on the verge of the reality’s ending, she already accumulates more than 27 million followers on Instagram, a larger popularity than the BBB’s itself and, now, the final prize too! Alias, she was the BBB’s champion with the highest percentage in the program’s history. Her first place came with 90.15% of the votes, an event that will be difficult to overcome in the next editions…
Do you want to know more about the story of this striking girl who, in less than three months, has already become the queen of social media and a trend dictator in the fashion universe? Keep reading!
- Who is Juliette Freire?
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Juliette Freire Feitosa was born in Campina Grande, county in Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Sagittarius of December 3th, 1989, she’s everything that features this fire “in the playground” zodiac sign: spontaneous, impulsive, short and sweet.
She grew up between five siblings. Daughter of the hairdresser Dona Fátima and the mechanic Seu Lourival, received a princess name due to her mother’s passion for telenovelas – Juliette was the name of Claudia Abreu’s royal character in “What King Am I?”, which was airing in the year she was born. Such a finesse, right?!
Of a humble origin, she spent her childhood playing on the train line and flying kites in the street. As a teenager, she was the one to take care of her family and held the fort after her sister’s early death from a stroke. This loss greatly influenced the way Juliette came to view life. According to her, today she tries to make the most, because she knows that life is extremely fragile and finite. And she does it great! Good-natured and with a high-spirited vibe, it didn’t take long for her to win a place in the heart of the audience – including ours, in Her Campus Casper Líbero…
- Lawyer, makeup artist and singer: The many facets of Juliette
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Juliette is the only one in her family with higher education – and, look, she didn’t go through a single university course… First, she studied Modern Languages for a few years. She dropped out and decided to take another college entrance exam. In this test, she got to be approved in third place for Medicine (no kidding!), but decided to choose what her heart was beating for: Law. She graduated and is now studying to become a delegate. As a lawyer, Juliette interned in the Federal Public Defender’s Office, and acted in defense of fundamental rights such as education, health, social security and also women rights.
But that wasn’t the only professional career she followed. After entering the Law School, she left Campina Grande to share an apartment with a friend in João Pessoa. To pay the bills, she started taking jobs as a makeup artist. It is not for nothing that we stay here just drooling in the incredible cat eyes she does at every reality’s party! Although it is not her dream, Juliette says that makeup makes her very happy and has been her biggest – and, sometimes, the only – source of income.
Another natural talent that Juliette hides in her sleeves and that shocked the audience at BBB21 is singing! Her brother, Washington Feitosa, revealed in an interview to Uol, that the lawyer has already recorded a song in the studio, way before entering the reality’s house. Unfortunately, the production was never released. Washington also told the news portal that it was him who taught Juliette some of the singing technique: “I was in so many choirs in Paraíba and also was a vocal teacher, so I always gave her tips!”.
- BBB 21: In the way of fame
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Juliette subscribed for the cast of Big Brothers Brasil eyeing the 1,5 million prize to help pay a heart surgeon for her mother. What she didn’t know was that she would be so warmly welcomed by the public outside the house. Yes, because inside, the first weeks were bad times for her. She spent days isolated and became the target of discriminatory and xenophobic comments by the other participants.
“At that moment she gained a lot of admiration from the public, they found themselves in her humanity and pain”, Washington stated in an interview. From there, she went around the top. Funny and with a light mood, she starred memes and catchphrases which are in the public’s mouths, and won the crowd of many celebrities too. Grazi Massafera, one of BBB’s biggest stars is one of those who declared to support the Paraibana: “I’m holding hands with you”, she tweeted.
- The secret of the success
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Juliette’s repercussion in the media was colossal! After less than 3 months, she went from anonymity to the second most followed BBB in the program’s history – above her, only Sabrina Sato (29 million)! According to Tânia Teixeira Pinto, Master in Communication Sciences, this is due, in addition to her charisma, to the professionalism of her advising team: “Juliette gave her Instagram password to a friend, married to an advertiser. When they realized the dimension of what they were in, they quickly hired Teca Falcão, who does a wonderful job in Recife and is known here in communication agencies in São Paulo”, she explains.
Another outcome of the team is the humanization work: “They brought to social media people who know Juliette very well and respond directly to her fans, as they were, also, part of the gang”. According to Tânia, this is what differentiates Juliette’s social media work from the other participants’ ones: “Fiuk, Camila and Pocah, for example, are with a huge agency, which have Preta Gil and Cleo Pires as proprietary companies. Big agencies usually end up doing a more pasteurized work; they deliver well, but deliver the processed, automated product”, she comments.
To achieve these results, Juliette’s social media team now has 21 members. “And this is not even a large number, considering that they have to create content 24/7!”, Tânia explains. She adds that another impressive fact is that, more than followers, Juliette has engagers: “Followers are numbers, statistical data. Engaging depends on public interaction, sharing of content – and this is way more important. Juliette is getting engagement”, Tânia points.
And, of course, engagement is not lacking. Cactos (as Juliette’s fans were named) make noise on the internet, constantly putting hashtags on Twitter’s trending topics. On Instagram, the same: one of the sister’s photos reached one million likes in less than six minutes, an achievement which surpasses brands of major international stars such as Beyoncé, Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner… Powerful or not?!
- Much more than 1,5 million: What comes next?!
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Already in the first week of the reality show, many researches have pointed Juliette as the favorite to win the BBB’s prize, but that is not all the promises that await her out here. The internet is thirsty for Juliette – and advertising too. The team that takes care of her profile has already been contacted by more than 100 brands interested in closing contracts with her. “She will appear a lot in the campaigns of C&A and Avon, and the forecast is that each post on her Instagram will cost between R$ 150 thousand to R$ 200 thousand – that is, the BBB’s R$ 1,5 million will be a very small amount for how much she will earn after the program”, Tânia states.
Moreover, the music career is just a step away. Various artists are filling Juliette’s DM (direct message) with invitations for feats! We can expect future collabs with renowned singers, as Maria Gadú, Chico Cesar, Duda Beat and Giulia Be (and those are just a few interested in recording with her). Luan Santana, in addition to inviting her to star in his new single’s videoclip, “Morena“, he managed to open the doors of the Sony Music label to Juliette. “Whenever you want, the label will be waiting for you”, he informed, in a Multishow program, right after the sister’s victory.
According to Tânia Teixeira, Juliette’s success is a certainty. “Nobody is ready for the radical change she will need to get in. But if she maintains that same energy and ethic image that she shows in the house, what awaits her is an amazing professional future”, she finishes.
Liked to discover more about this new Brazilian phenomenon?! Take the opportunity to follow her and the other BBB participants! The final was air on May 4th, on Rede Globo. We’re already missing the sneak peaks in the most watched house in the country – and all the entertainment and inspirational moments that Juliette provided us daily…
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The article above was edited by Amanda Ardigó.
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