Marisa Monte is a Brazilian popular singer, and one the biggest stars of contemporary MPB. She was born on July 1, 1967 in Rio de Janeiro.

While classically trained in opera singing, she grew up surrounded by the sounds of the Portela samba school, and combines diverse influences into her music. While most of her music is in the style of modern MPB, she has also recorded traditional sambas and folklore tunes, and songs by Marvin Gaye and Lou Reed.

Much of her work has been in collaboration with musicians/songwriters Carlinhos Brown, Arnaldo Antunes, and Nando Reis, and producer Arto Lindsay. She has also worked with foreign artists such as Laurie Anderson and Ryuichi Sakamoto.