Maria Rita Mariano (best known as MARIA RITA) is a Brazilian singer, daughter of famed pianist/arranger César Camargo Mariano and the late Brazilian singer legend Elis Regina. She was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on September 9, 1977. Maria Rita graduated in Latin American studies and communications in New York University, and worked as a journalist in a magazine for teenagers. Maria Rita began to sing professionally aged 24, even though she began to sing since she was 14.