Madam Beja

Plot

In 1815, in the city of Araxá, lives Beja, a young woman of breathtaking beauty, yet also a dreamer, a romantic, and full of hope. Orphaned of her mother and abandoned by her father before she was even born, she grows up under the care of her grandfather, José Alves, an honest man who instills in her values of freedom and dignity. Beja dreams of a simple life, driven by the love she feels for Antônio, her one true love, with whom she believes she will marry and build a family. The tranquility of her life is brutally shattered when her grandfather is murdered by Ouvidor Motta, the provincial governor, while attempting to prevent his granddaughter from being kidnapped. Fascinated by Beja's beauty, Motta abducts her and takes her far away from her hometown, separating her from Antônio and destroying her dreams.

During an escape, Beja manages to secretly return to Araxá, where she discovers, through a cruel lie orchestrated by the envious and malicious Maria, that Antônio has married Angélica. Convinced that she has been abandoned and lacking the strength to face the past, Beja decides not to return to her hometown and comes to believe that her destiny lies in marrying Motta. Meanwhile, Antônio, believing that Beja has abandoned him, ends up entering into a relationship with Angélica under pressure from his mother, Ceci, a cold and manipulative woman who has always done everything in her power to keep him away from Beja. As the years pass, Beja undergoes a transformation. The dreamy young woman gives way to a strong, intelligent, and strategic woman. Kept as a wife by Motta, she amasses wealth and influence through relationships with other powerful men, who shower her with jewels, land, and prestige.

When Motta is promoted and joins the Court, Beja believes she will finally gain recognition and freedom. However, he refuses to bring her there officially, keeping her hidden away as a mistress. Feeling used and betrayed once again, Beja decides to take action. With the help of her faithful servant Severina, Beja devises an elaborate corruption scheme that directly implicates the Emperor. The plan results in Motta's arrest and the annulment of their marriage. Free for the first time, Beja finally breaks the chains that have bound her since youth and embraces her destiny as an independent, powerful woman—a woman who is truly her own master.

Upon returning to Araxá and being cruelly shunned by its conservative society, Beja suffers a devastating blow when she confirms that Antônio has indeed married someone else. Beja resolves to transform her pain into audacity, founding the sophisticated Chácara do Jatobá, a luxurious and exclusive venue where she hosts the region's most influential men for unique evenings marked by refinement, seduction, and lavish payments. The scandal spreads rapidly among the traditional families, who view Beja's enterprise as a direct affront to the prevailing moral code. Nevertheless, this select gentlemen's club becomes an absolute triumph, elevating her to the status of a prestigious courtesan and a figure of immense political and social influence. While women such as Ceci, Genoveva, and Augusta, alongside the powerful Colonel Elias, spearhead a smear campaign to destroy her, Beja demonstrates that she knows how to play the game of power with shrewd intelligence.

Cast

Grazi Massafera as Ana Jacinta de São José "Dona Beja"

Ana Carolina Leite as child Beja

David Junior as Antônio Sampaio

Levi Asaf as child Antônio

André Luiz Miranda as João Mendonça

Kauã Torres as child João

Pedro Fasanaro as Severina Andrade

Bianca Bin as Angélica Sampaio

Sofia Fornazari as child Angélica

Deborah Evelyn as Cecília "Ceci" Sampaio

Ana Thomé as young Ceci

Indira Nascimento as Maria Sampaio

Duda Bernardo as child Maria

Bukassa Kabengele as Colonel Paulo Sampaio

Otávio Müller as Jorge da Costa Pinto

Kelzy Ecard as Augusta da Costa Pinto

Tuca Andrada as Colonel Felizardo Sampaio

Isabela Garcia as Genoveva Sampaio

Werner Schünemann as Colonel Francisco Botelho

Thalma de Freitas as Josefa Mendonça

Luciano Quirino as José Mendonça

Guest stars

Virgílio Castelo as Ouvidor Joaquim da Motta

Roberto Bomtempo as Alves

Joana Solnado as Maria Bernarda Alves

Elisa Lucinda as Flaviana Sampaio

Elizabeth Savala as Madame Constance

Lúcia Veríssimo as Mother Idalina Botelho

Othon Bastos as Judge

Marcello Escorel as Father Melo Franco

Fábio de Luca as Colonel Tenório Madeira

Lucinha Lins as Miss Callen

Jaime Leibovitch as Father Jaime

Luiz Henrique Nogueira as Domingos Junqueira

Paulo Giardini as Eliseu

Cauã Martins as Heitor

Pedro Carvalho as Dom Pedro I

Manuela Duarte as Gracia

Cláudio Mendes as Juca

Luiz Sérgio Navarro as Andrade

Carol Rainatto as Empress Leopoldina

Vandré Silveira as Moacir

Henrique Sganzerla as Dom Pedro II

Fernando Sampaio as Police Officer

Production

In September 2021, Floresta acquired the rights the 1986 telenovela Dona Beija. António Barreira, an International Emmy Award-winning Portuguese writer, was tasked with penning the adaptation, basing it on the original scripts by Wilson Aguiar Filho. Initially, Barreira was set to work with Renata Jhin on developing the scripts. However, on 28 May 2022, Jhin stepped down from the project due to her inability to balance her workload and was replaced by Daniel Berlinsky.

The adaptation was officially commissioned and announced by Max in March 2023 during a panel at the Rio2C event. On 11 August 11 2023, Floresta Produções and HBO decided that the telenovela would be titled Dona Beja, the courtesan's real name, but that it would retain the same script as the original work, with modifications. Filming began on 11 October 2023.

Release

Madam Beja premiered on 2 February 2026, with five new episodes being released weekly until 23 March 2026. The telenovela made its broadcast television premiere on Band on 5 March 2026.