Simone de Oliveira was born and raised in Lisbon. Her Portuguese mother had black African roots in São Tomé and Príncipe (then a Portuguese territory), and her father was Belgian. She started singing in high school.
In 1968, the released the Quando Me Enamoro EP on Decca PEP 1250. It contained the songs, "Viva O Amor" ("Ein Hoch Der Liebe") by Carl J. Schäuble and Horst Jankowsky, "Nos Meus Braços Outra Vez" ("Come Into My Arms Again") by Barbara Ruskin, "Quando Me Enamoro" ("Quando M'Innammoro") by – Pace, Panzeri and Livraghi, and "Para Cada Um Sua Canção" ("A Chacun Sa Chanson") by J. C. Oliver and R. Valade.[1][2]
Eleven years later she was again selected by RTP to represent her country in the ninth edition of the OTI Festival (The Latin American counterpart of the Eurovision Song Contest). She performed the song "A tua espera" which got the 14th place with 9 points.
Other successful songs:
"Maria solidão"
"Deixa lá"
"À tua espera"
On 23 September 2017, Simone, o Musical, dedicated to Simone de Oliveira and telling her life story, made its debut at the Teatro Tivoli BBVA in Lisbon. Simone de Oliveira also appeared on stage throughout the musical, and close the play with the song Apenas o meu povo (“Just my people”).[3]
In 1993, Simone was also a jury member in the first season of SIC contest Chuva de Estrelas [pt] (the Portuguese version of Stars in Their Eyes), which has uncovered new talents in Portuguese music.
Personal life
Simone is a breast cancer survivor and had the sickness twice.[4]