The Inspiration for the Iconic Bossa Nova Tune ‘Girl From Ipanema’ Talks About Being Immortalized In Song

Helo Pinheiro, the young woman who was the inspiration in 1962 for the bossa nova song “Girl From Ipanema”, sat down with Today host Hoda Kotb to talk about being immortalized in such an iconic song. Pinheiro told Kotb that she was not aware at the time that a song was being written about her. She was also surprised she was noticed that way because she was a very shy, quiet person, especially at the age of 17.

I am so shy and I don’t believe but in 1962 this happened after three years yeah 1965 blow up and everybody I want to know – who is the girl from Ipanema?

Here’s a live performance of the song in 1964.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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