- By Andre Aram
“I had to take paths and make choices that I didn't want to have made,” says a woman whose image has always been associated with eroticism in Brazil and whose nudity has been exploited in dozens of adult magazines. However, while being a sex symbol during her youth didn't pose a problem for her, the consequences of her actions became a concern years later. Born in sunny Rio de Janeiro, Regina Soares began studying classical ballet as a child, but in 1987 she took part in a beauty contest called Girl Sun & Sea, where she came second. But her life changed course when she was asked to join the quartet of dancers in a musical group in the early 1990s.
The 5’ 3”, 121lb (ca. 55 kg) blonde stood out from the rest and was given the stage name Regininha Poltergeist by singer Fausto Fawcett. On stage, her sensual, scantily clad performances sent the men in the audience into a frenzy, while Fausto sang her biggest hit, Kátia Flávia, which was part of the soundtrack to Roman Polanski's 1992 film Bitter Moon. It wasn't long before she was invited to pose nude for men's magazines such as Playboy, cinema, television, and other jobs that she isn't proud of and today prefers to forget.
During the interview, which took place in a coffee shop in the centre of Rio, she was a little confused when it came to remembering events from the past, mixing up subjects in a disconnected way. Some customers at nearby tables look at the photo shoot but don't recognize that there is a former Playboy bunny and sexy star from the past. Being sensual has always been a part of her life. Regininha doesn't remember how many times she was naked, but there were many adult magazine covers, about 15 in the 1990s alone, where she ranks as the second Brazilian to have posed naked the most times in the country. “I don't know how many nude shoots I did; there were still those magazines with CD-ROMs and VHS tapes, but I remember that Playboy's payment wasn't very good.” The shoot for the Brazilian version of Hugh Hefner's publication [1926-2017] took place in 1994 at the peak of her youthful splendour. None of these magazines exist any more, and neither does that blonde woman with the shapely body in their editorials. When asked what she did with the money, she says she spent it all, but can't remember exactly what she spent it on.
She spent around three years working as a dancer for the musical group, parallel to the revues, where she travelled all over the country, also due to a controversial show that mixed dance and a daring performance on stage. Created by Fausto, the show entitled ‘Santa Clara Poltergeist’ was about a young woman who, while pedaling her old bicycle along the Copacabana waterfront, has the seat fall off and rusty iron penetrate her vagina.
The mixture of blood and rust gives her paranormal powers of healing through sex. The success of the show, which had an impact on the most puritanical, gave her visibility. The 1990s represented the golden years for her, as she had achieved fame, money, and success before the age of 25, as well as a legion of male fans. But the situation for Regininha began to change drastically in the 2000s. After the end of a marriage that lasted only a few years and the birth of her only child came financial problems—several of them.
Highs and lows of a goddess from the past
By the early 2000s, invitations had become scarcer; her beauty was still there, but her body was already showing the effects of age. With financial problems, she decided to accept an offer to star in a porn movie in 2007. “I did four scenes, which turned into about four erotic films.” The fee of around £55,000 at the time enabled her to live without worries for a few years, pay off her parents' back taxes, and put down the deposit on a beachfront flat in a prime area of Rio. However, after a while of not being able to afford the payments on the luxury property, she was left without her future home and also without the money she had invested in it. How could a woman who has made so much money throughout her career not be able to build up any assets?
During the interview, she admits that she was a consumer: “I think it was a compulsion; I bought things every day, a lot of the (adult) film fee I spent buying clothes, shoes, jewellery, and handbags; in short, a bit of everything.” This may be the main reason why she hasn't been able to ensure peaceful maturity. Some clothes and accessories she bought in the past are now available in the bazaar she plans to set up to increase her currently meagre income.
Before starting her artistic career, she had already experienced a life of luxury and wealth when she dated a successful Brazilian businessman in the 1980s. “He had a Porsche, a house in the Algarve (Portugal) in front of a golf course; we went to nice restaurants in Rio; I had a driver; we lived in Copacabana and Ipanema; trips to Miami; I got used to that life,” she recalled. The relationship lasted six years, but she didn't want to reveal the reason for the breakup or the name of the businessman.
Between fame and chaos
The years following the 18+ films would be worse for her, plunging her into a spiral of problems that she is still trying to get out of. Her career had reached another level, this time as a porn actress. Once the money had run out and the bills were piling up, she saw no other way out than to accept indecent proposals (prostitution), a period she prefers to erase from her life.
It was a chance for men who had once lusted after her nudity in magazines and films to now have sex with her; for a price above the average charged by sex workers, even if beauty and fitness had taken a back seat. “I did it because I needed that money.” She also tried formal jobs, where she worked briefly in an appliance shop; but according to her, the manager didn't like the curious people who came into the shop just to see the former celebrity.
Regininha, who has been an evangelical for over 15 years, comments that her artistic surname means ‘noisy ghosts’ and that this may have brought bad vibes into her life. “I've been through so many situations; I don't know if it has anything to do with that [name].” The term became popular worldwide after the success of the 1982 American horror film Poltergeist. She also points out that ‘church people’ have not looked favourably on the choices she has made in recent years.
At another point, she says that she is being persecuted by neighbours who don't like her, without saying exactly why. She currently lives with her father in a simple flat in the north of the city, only travelling by bus and metro, and is sometimes visited by her son, who has lived with his father for years. They keep in touch regularly, but mostly by phone, she says.
In November 2021, she hit rock bottom when she left her house, where she lived alone, and went to live in a petrol station, where she was helped by the staff with food and sometimes a place to shower. At the time, overweight and with greying hair, her image was the complete opposite of the good old days.
The outrageous situation lasted 20 days when it was reported in the tabloid newspapers of the time. Again, she claimed that she was being stalked by local residents, that she had left everything behind, and that her mobile phone had been traced. With the help of a few people, she returned to her father's house, but her mother died soon afterwards. In the following months, she took on various freelance jobs, one of them as a shiatsu masseuse.
“Massage for men means sex; it's difficult. Some even want a massage, but most don't; they ask if there's a ‘happy end’ (ejaculation) because they've seen my magazines; some are fans from the past, others watched the films; they still watch because it's on the Internet,” she lamented. Success may have deserted her, but she hasn't left it. She often says that she has many fans in Brazil. She confessed that she missed the notoriety of the past, which was so exploited in male shows and publications.
“A German magazine once did an article on me when I was named by them as one of the most beautiful women in the world. I don't know who came up with that (laughs); it was in the 1990s,” she said, without remembering the name of the magazine or the exact year. Single for 11 years, her last relationship with a gym teacher lasted about four years. She confesses that she would like to have a boyfriend, although her current problems seem to take the focus off a relationship.
Mental health, pies, and massages
In August 2024, after a psychotic break at home, she was taken against her will to a mental hospital, where she was treated for 10 days. When she left the institution, she undertook to continue with the medication recommended by the doctors and therapy.
“It was a nightmare. I didn't think I was going to get out of there. They gave me drugs. I was doped up. I prayed a lot. I asked God to get me out of there. It was surreal to see myself in that situation.” When asked what prompted her hospitalization, she replied:
“It was a situation set up by someone who doesn't like me, a neighbour. I shouted at her; they were throwing gas canisters at my house,” she explained. One of Regininha's passions is cooking, and a few months later she started selling chicken pies on the streets of the neighbourhood where she lives. While drinking a can of soda, she says she plans to rent a commercial room again and resume her massage services, although she knows that many clients will come to her with ulterior motives. “I just want to focus on the massage, but they say, ‘Wow, I never imagined meeting you in person’, as if I were unattainable,’’ she boasts.
While a slice of pie costs around £0.95, massages cost around £68 an hour. As well as the financial gain, she says that people in her church claim that she has gifts of healing through her hands: ‘I always pray when the person is on the gurney; I think that through massage I can heal pain; many people have said that they are pain-free after my massage.’ Something that sounds unusual when we remember that in 1990 she played a religious figure on stage who healed through sex.
Regrets and Future
The young blonde who charmed a generation of men is now a 54-year-old woman, weighing over 176 lb (ca. 80 kg). Asked about her regrets, she explains several: “I regret the [+18] movies, but on the other hand, I had the opportunity to earn a lot of money, and that helped me for a long time, but my upbringing was different.” She regrets leaving classical ballet aside to devote herself to other areas. “I would have liked to have pursued this career, to have been a ballet dancer, but at the time I needed to help my family, and if I depended on ballet, it would have taken time, and then came the invitations, the beauty contests, etc.”.
She doesn't know how long she will continue selling pies and complains that the money is little and barely enough to pay the bills. Her current goal is to return to shiatsu: “I want to focus on massages, but without the sexual side, to have a relationship with someone, and the opportunity to have a new life”.
The Brazilian, who was once one of the biggest icons of sensuality in the country of samba and carnival, now seems far removed from her glorious past. She would even like to return to her artistic career but doesn't know exactly how. “I've had some good times, but the last few years have been the hardest of my life, but with faith I'll get through it.” Beauty, fame, and youth are in the past, and the present is an arduous reality for her.