Actress. Palmira Bastos was one of the most renowned Portuguese stage actresses of the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, with a career spanning almost 80 years. Born Maria da Conceição Palmira Martins (or Martinez) in 1875 in Aldeia Gavinha, north of Lisbon, she was the daughter of two Spanish traveling stage actors. Her father abandoned the family, and her mother went to live in Lisbon with her three daughters, where she worked as a seamstress in a dress shop during the day and as a chorus girl in theaters at night. Bastos became interested in dramatic arts at a very young age, as she was practically born and raised in the backstage of the capital's theaters. She debuted at just 15 on July 18, 1890, at the Rua dos Condes Theater in Lisbon with the operetta "O Reino das Mulheres" ("The Womens' Kingdom") by E. Blum, achieving great success. Her career took off, and she soon became one of the most famous personalities of Lisbon. In 1893 she had her first starring role and made her first tour with a theater company to Brazil, which would be a total of 11, where she also achieved great acclamation. She married impresario, playwright and theater critic António de Sousa Bastos, 30 years her senior, in 1894. They had two daughters. After leaving the Rua dos Condes Theater, she performed at the Trindade Theater, Avenida Theater, D. Amélia Theater (later renamed São Luís Theater), Variedades Theater and D. Maria II National Theater, being the latter the most prestigious. She was known to have a great range of acting talents, excelling in comedy, drama and musical theater, even being praised by the more ferocious critics. She became a widow in 1911 and remarried in 1917 to fellow actor and tenor Almeida Cruz, but the marriage didn't last. She eventually abandoned more popular and lighter works to pursue a more serious approach to the dramatic arts. In 1918 she founded her own theater company, which was active for only 7 years. She was not a fan of cinema and only participated in one silent movie called "O Destino" (1922), directed by Georges Pallu. From the mid-1920's on, she integrated the Rey Colaço-Robles Monteiro Company, the most distinguished of the country, to which she belonged for the rest of her career. It was in the 1930's that she began to be called the First Lady of Portuguese Theater. She also participated in numerous televised plays. Some of her most memorable works were in "Mourning Becomes Electra" by Eugene O'Neill, "Lady Windermere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde, or "Tartuffe" by Molière. Her last appearance was in the play "Cyclone" by W. Somerset Maugham at the São Luís Theater in Lisbon on December 15, 1966, at the age of 91. She died five months later. The line "Dead inside, but standing, standing, like the trees" in the play "As Árvores Morrem de Pé" ("Trees Die Standing") by Alejandro Casona became her most famous line, forever linking her to the play. She received many national awards and medals and was awarded the ranks of Officer (1920) and Commander (1958) of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword and Commander of the Military Order of Christ (1965).