The song called "The Girl from Ipanema" is based on a real person.
What is her birthday?

Hi there!

The young lady in question is Heloisa Pinheiro, who was just 18 years
old in 1962 when she was spotted by composer Tom Jobim and lyricist
Vinicius de Moraes.  She is 57 this year, making her birthday in 1943.

Aspen Daily News - The Usual Suspect
http://www.aspendailynews.com/Search_Columns/view_column.cfm?OrderNumber=455

Alas, her actual date of birth has been elusive, but a picture of the
lovely Heloisa was not:

She's a Carioca
http://nortemag.com/tom/publics/ela_carioca/e.ela_carioca.html

...and you can read a bit more about her and the song that made her
famous here:

The Woman Behind the Girl From Ipanema
http://www.wbez.org/schedule/jazz/girlfromip_info.htm

Perhaps another Researcher can find her actual date of birth.  Until
then, enjoy the picture, and the sound clips on the Jazz page!

--Missy

Please excuse my typo above...Mrs. Pinheiro's year of birth is 1945. 
My fingers didn't want to be cooperative tonight!  My apologies!

--Missy

Sorry, icecoldbeer!

I couldn't find out her date of birth either.   For what it's worth,
here's what I did find, though. Much of this you probably already
know.

In 1962 Heloisa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto was walking down Ipanema
beach, past a bar where two songwriters, Antonio Carlos Jobim and
Vinicius de Moraes, were sitting and noticed her.

The song ?Girl From Ipanema? was first sung in English in 1964 on an
album by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto.  The song was sung by Gilberto's
then wife, Astrud Gilberto.

Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto married engineer Fernando Abel
Pinheiro in May 1966.
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:RN450FtZJ7MC:www.protocollink.com/AJC_projects.htm+Girl+from+Ipanema+heloisa+pinheiro&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


Recent Photos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1437011.stm


Web site for her boutique:
http://www.garotadeipanema.com.br/home.html


Another recent photo of her and details regarding the lawsuit over the
name of her boutique:
http://old.smh.com.au/news/0108/17/entertainment/entertain8.html


According to a comment in a ?Groups? search, Heloisa Pinheiro has
written a book entitled "Por Causa Do Amor".
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=heloisa+pinheiro&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=33DA211D.A75FACA0%40viper.demon.co.uk&rnum=1


CSIgirl

One more nugget of information is that the bar where Heloisa was
discovered was named Veloso.  It has since been renamed Garota de
Ipanema in tribute to the song, and the Street has been renamed Rua
Vinicius de Moraes in tribute to the lyricist.

CSIgirl