Maeve Jinkings was born in Brasília, Brazil’s capital. She graduated from the University of São Paulo’s School of Dramatic Arts (EAD), and also studied at renowned director Antunes Filho’s Center for Theatrical Research, two of Brazil’s most prestigious schools for actors. During her studies, she had her first experience as a supporting actress in cinema, acting in the feature Falsa Loura (“Fake Blonde”), by Carlos Reichembach. Despite her on-screen debut, this period was essentially dedicated to theatre, which served as the basis for her to develop the tools that are essential to the work of actor.
In 2010, in Pernambuco, she shoots the feature film Neighboring Sounds, by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the first of a series of jobs in the state, currently one of the most important centers of independent cinema production in Brazil. In 2012, Maeve Jinkings, alongside actor Nash Laila, starred in the feature film Amor Plástico e Barulho (“Love, Plastic, and Noise”) by Renata Pinheiro, in which she plays a decadent singer, up to then her most dramatically charged character since the beginning of her career. For this film, Maeve won several awards for best acting.
In 2014, she acted in the feature film Neon Bull by Gabriel Mascaro, playing a rodeo truck driver. The film was selected to several film festivals, it debuted in 2015 at the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.
In 2016, Maeve is cast in Aquarius, the eagerly awaited follow-up feature film directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Sônia Braga. This film debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with acclaim from critics, and was then distributed to more than 65 countries and nominated for the prestigious Spirit Awards in the USA.
In 2017, Maeve Jinkings stars in Quando a Terra Treme (“When the Earth Shakes”), a short film directed by Walter Salles. The film explores the consequences of the environmental disaster in Mariana, Minas Gerais, and is part of Where Has the Time Gone? a collective project by Jia Zhangke (China).
In 2020 she starred in a new artistic partnership between Renata Pinheiro and Sergio Pinheiro, the feature film Açúcar (“Sugar”). The international debut of Açúcar took place at the 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam.
In 2021 Maeve starred in Carolina Markowicz’s feature debut Charcoal, which had its world premiere at 2022 Toronto’s prestigious Platform competition before heading to San Sebastian for its European premiere as part of Horizontes Latinos lineup. Markowicz’s second feature is Toll, also starred by Maeve Jinkings, still in post-production.
In June 2023, Globoplay series Os Outros (The Others) will start being broadcasted worldwide. Maeve is one of the lead characters in this drama located in a Rio de Janeiro condo where neighbors can’t find peace living alongside.
Her first partnership with NETFLIX takes place under the artistic direction of Heitor Dhalia. DNA do Crime is a crime series in which Maeve is the lead actress playing a federal police officer fighting drug trafficking in South America. It is set to premiere late 2023.