The Little-Known Story of the Real “Girl from Ipanema”
How an Unsavory Obsession Inspired One of the World’s Most Recognizable Songs
Not many people can say that they are the inspiration for one of the most well-known songs in the world. Although her name is not widely known outside of Brazil, Helô Pinheiro is the girl from Ipanema. It’s thought to be one of most recorded songs of the 20th century, second only to the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” But the story behind the song is a bit seedier than its innocent lyric might suggest.
When they wrote this iconic song in 1962, married composer Antonio Carlos Jobim was 35 years old, and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes, who would marry a total of 9 times, was 50. The object of their desire, Helô Pinheiro, was a 17-year-old schoolgirl. Every day, Helô would walk past the Veloso bar on the beachfront of Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and de Moraes and Jobim would drink heavily, and cat call her as she ignored them. She didn’t know who they were until a few years later when they revealed
she was the inspiration behind the iconic song. At first, she couldn’t believe it. She eventually ended up becoming friends with the songwriting duo. Jobim wanted to leave his wife for her and asked Helô to marry him. Helô had the good sense to turn him down.
