Actress. She was one of the main theatre figures of 20th century Portugal. She grew up in the rich cultural environment of her father's house, Alexandre Rey Colaço, famous pianist, composer and music master of the last king of Portugal and contacted with the intellectual and artistic elite of the time. She became interested in theatre in 1913, during a visit to her maternal grandmother in Berlin to study music. Her grandmother maintained a famous literary and musical hall where she attended the great shows of Max Ranhardt, having then decided to become an actress. She participated in several charities and private recitals and even recited for King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his court in 1915. Back in Lisbon, she began her apprenticeship with the actor and co-founder of the theatre company Rosas and Brazão, Augusto Rosa. Four years later, on November 17, 1917, she debuted with enormous success at the República Theatre, which is today São Luiz Theatre, with the play "Marianela," demonstrating unusual artistic qualities that made her an actress of the highest order. Her premiere, widely publicized by the press, was received with enthusiasm by most critics. Nóbrega Quintal praised the "perfect physiognomic game, a singing voice full of rhythm that caresses, meticulous care in the character's exterior composition, a true, scrupulous, perfect interpretation," and newspapers such as "Diário de Notícias," "O Século" and "O Mundo" announced the beginning of a brilliant career, of enormous value to the Portuguese theatres. On December 4, 1920, she married the actor Robles Monteiro, with whom she founded the Rey Colaço-Robles Monteiro Company, the main theatre company of the country for more than fifty years. The first play presented by the new company, on March 5, 1921, was "Zilda," at the D. Maria II National Theatre, where Amélia embodied the first modern character in Portuguese theatre. The following year, the company settled at the Politeama Theatre where it stayed for several years. In 1922 her only daughter Mariana was born, who herself would become one of the main figures of Portuguese theatre and television. In 1923 she made her first and last appearance in cinema, "O Primo Basílio," a silent film produced by George Pallu, where she played the leading role as "Luísa." On March 26, 1929, the company appeared again on the stage of the National Theatre with the play "Peraltas and Sécias" where it would remain as resident company until 1964. With her good taste and up-to-dateness that distinguished her, she contributed to the artistic and cultural environment of the country, as an actress, scenographer, props assistant, director, in the choice of repertoire and, when she deemed it appropriate, calling renowned artists. There were hundreds of plays presented by the company, of which some were works of famous classic and contemporary playwrights of various nationalities, although never failing to present and publicize Portuguese authors. The most renowned Portuguese actors passed through the company and she also became known for encouraging the emergence of new talents. Despite all her activity, including as director of the company, she gave an invaluable contribution as an actress. Some interpretations were extremely famous at the time, such as characters in the plays: "Castro," "Salomé," "Outono em flor," "Romeu e Julieta," "O Processo de Jesus," "Topaze," "Tango," "A visita da velha senhora," "Apesar de tudo," "A senhora na boca do lixo," "Equilíbrio instável," "Degredados," "Ciclone," "Dona formiga," "Desencontro," "Recompensa," "Electra" and "Fantasmas." She was applauded in the most varied genres and roles, which she studied, according to herself, in absolute silence at home: first the psychological study, then the lines, and then a constant experience with the character, analysing every detail, from voice to footwear. She also became known for playing specific characters like prostitutes or beggars in a way that scandalised the then bourgeois public in the first years of her career. In 1964, when Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" was on stage, a serious fire broke out that consumed not only the interior of the theatre, but also the entirety of the rich collection of sets and wardrobe that formed the basis of the repertoire built, for more than forty years, by the Rey Colaço-Robles Monteiro Company. However, she continued working, renting the Avenida Theatre where she played "O motim," a premiere attended by the President of the Republic Américo Thomaz and which was immediately banned by the Censorship. The National Theatre was rebuilt but it burned down again in 1967. She then rented the Cine-Teatro Capitólio, where she remained until her last appearance as a stage actress with her company, on January 30, 1973, in the play "Adriano VII," ceasing the company's activity in 1974, following the Carnation Revolution. She reappeared to the public in 1982 in a television series entitled "Gente fina é outra coisa," where she played the character "Matilde Francisca Eufrosina de Santo Eustáquio Penha Leredo Solomon Bentorrado Corvelins," an old noblewoman. This was her first appearance on television. Her last stage performance was in 1985, where she played the character of Queen Catherine of Castile in the play "El-rei D. Sebastião," at the age of 87. She later dedicated herself to helping the National Theatre Museum divulge the History of theatre in Portugal. Her company would only be officially extinguished in 1988. She had been awarded the ranks of Commander of the Order of Public Instruction on March 17, 1933, Commander of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword on November 2, 1961, being elevated to Grand Officer of the same Order on August 30, 1978 and Commander of the Military Order of Christ on December 13, 1967. She died at the age of 92, on July 8, 1990 from the complication of aging. She is remembered today as one of the greatest names of Portuguese culture and is often referred to as "Queen of the Stages" and "Grand Dame of Theatre."