Biography

• The author and actress, Chris Linnares, was born in São Paulo. Chris’s fascination with human behavior and her extensive research in the area, associated to her passion for the arts, have had great influence on her innovative and creative work style.
   
• Chris holds a degree in psychology, a Masters in Neuro-linguistic Programming, and a post-graduate degree in Organizational Dynamics from FGV (Sao Paulo). She further developed her studies in Human Development at Harvard University (Boston) and at UCLA (LA). She took a screenplay course at Cinusp (Sao Paulo).
   
• In drama, Chris has taken a number of acting courses, including Film Acting at Studio Fatima Toledo (Sao Paulo), and Organic Improvisation at the Spontaneous Theatre.
  
  
• Since she was a child, Chris has had great interest in dance and for eight years she studied ballet, jazz, tap dancing, flamenco, and tango.
  
  
• At 15, she took her first few steps in acting, when she joined the Group Po de Giz, directed by Eduardo Rasuk, and the Group Menestreis, coordinated by Oswaldo Montenegro.
   
• In 1995, she started a career in the professional theater with the Group Circo Grafite Nucleo 2, coordinated by actress Rosi Campos. She acted in the children's play, Tranformação, directed by Andrea Rezende, and in the play, O Diário de Eva, directed by Sérgio Ferrara.
   
• From 1998 to 2001, she produced and hosted the radio show, Historias de Sucesso (Radio Mundial - SP), a unique program that offered audiences the opportunity to tell their life-stories with a positive twist. At about the same time, having collected such fertile work material – men’s and women’s perspectives on their desires and achievements, Chris started lecturing on human behavior.
   
• In 2000, thanks to the success of her radio program, Chris Linnares was invited to launch her first book, S.E.R - Sinta, Explore e Realize suas Potencialidades – Feel, Explore and Meet your Potential (Editora Madras).
   
• Always focusing on the advancement of people’s lives, in 1999, Chris developed the Program METAS – Motivation, Choices, Work and Attitude in Society – for teenagers, in which she promotes meetings and dynamics to discuss key issues on personal development, which are not part of the school curriculum, such as: vocation, inter-personal relationship, motivation and self-esteem.
   
• In 2001, with her radio work and nationwide lectures, Chris Linnares had access to a number of accounts on what lifts or brings down women’s self-esteem today. Always ahead of her time, Chris decided to go back to the stage as an author and actress in the comedy “Divas no Divã”, where she explores those same experiences with humor and irony. The comedy also brought to the stage talents such as: Julio Braggion, Marcelo Boffa and Pricilla Carvalho.
   
• On the footsteps of the play’s success, Linnares launched the book Divas no Divã with Editora Gente publishers, and, in less than a year, the book reached the list of best sellers, placing Chris as a national spokesperson for the feminine universe.
  
  
• The impact of her work took the author-actress beyond the stage: she was invited to write and act in sketches on people’s everyday lives and discuss on TV the human universe, always with great humor. On Rede Mulher, she developed the sketches, Papo de Comadre, as part of the show, Ser tão Mulher, and the segment, Comportamento em Foco of the program Mulheres em Foco. Next, she was a hit on Rede Bandeirantes with her live sketches, as part of the show Boa Noite Brasil.
   
• Aiming to help improve people’s lives, Chris Linnares has devised and developed a number of successful projects:
  * Arte Solidária project, carried out in 2002, gave the underprivileged population access
  to the theatre.
  * Lectures for needy communities on the development of human potential. With this work,
  Chris has been honored with a number of awards for her services on helping the advancement
  of society, among which:
  - Ponto Alto Award from São Bernardo do Campo/SP.
  -The title of best lecturer and master of the NGO Elas por Elas from Suzano/SP.
   
• In 2004, with an innovative text bringing together romance, fiction and a humorous view of human psychology, Chris once again struck gold with the celebrated novel Divas no Divã. Chris Linnares, also found success in the publishing market with her latest release, Cinderella in a tight spot – for those who don’t live a fairy-tale, but deserve a happy-ending!
   
• Her work has reached new heights in the international market. In 2005, her book Cinderella de Saia Justa was published in Portugal by Pergaminho publishers. In 2006, it will be published in the USA by Kototama publishers.
   
• In 2005, Chris sold more that 100,000 DVD copies of her one woman show, Divas On Divan, becoming the best selling theater DVD in Brazil.
   
• In 2006, Chris Linnares, after getting married and moving from the tropics of Brazil to the frozen tundra of Fargo, ND, she overcame postpartum depression, the loss of her father, and the
  battle of being 50lbs. overweight. In her healing, she was inspired to create, Diva Dance, an uplifting seminar that uses Latin dance as a tool to increase women’s self-esteem.
   
• In 2007, Cinderella On The Couch was published in the United States and Chris published an inspirational giftbook, You Deserve…