Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues, known as Amália Rodrigues, was born on July 23, 1920, in Lisbon, Portugal, though she claimed her birthday was July 1. She grew up in a large, impoverished family and began working at a young age to help support them. Her early life in the Alfama district of Lisbon, a place steeped in the tradition of fado music, deeply influenced her artistic path.

Rodrigues began her professional singing career in 1939, quickly gaining fame for her haunting and passionate renditions of fado, a traditional Portuguese music genre characterized by themes of longing and melancholy. By the early 1940s, she was a celebrated figure in Portugal, and her fame soon spread internationally. She toured extensively in Brazil and Spain during World War II and introduced the song "April in Portugal" to international audiences in 1950.

Amália's influence on fado was profound; she expanded its traditional boundaries by incorporating Spanish and Mexican rhythms and collaborating with contemporary poets for her lyrics. Her contributions to the genre earned her the title "Rainha do Fado" or "Queen of Fado." She also achieved success as an actress, starring in films such as "Capas Negras" (1947) and "Fado" (1947).

Despite facing criticism after the Revolution of the Carnations in 1974 for alleged collaboration with the former dictatorship, her reputation was largely restored when it was revealed she had secretly supported the Portuguese Communist Party. Amália's legacy as an ambassador for Portuguese culture was cemented by her receipt of the Grand Cross of the Order of Santiago in 1990, Portugal's highest honor.

Amália Rodrigues passed away on October 6, 1999, in Lisbon, at the age of 79. Her death was marked by three days of national mourning in Portugal, underscoring her status as a cherished cultural icon. Her music continues to resonate, making her the best-selling Portuguese artist in the history of recorded music.