Estelle Valente was born in France, a country with which she maintains a deep connection, and chose Lisbon as her home 15 years ago—a city whose sunshine she cannot do without.
In 2012, she began her collaboration with fado singer Gisela João, which continues to this day. Between 2015 and 2024, she was the official photographer for the São Luiz Municipal Theater, where she photographed rehearsals, shows, and communication campaigns.
Stage photography is the central focus of her work. She continues to collaborate with theater and dance companies, and also works in the areas of portraiture and concert photography.
The year 2018 marked a decisive moment in her career: she held her first exhibition, Carla no Papel, in Setúbal, where actress Carla Maciel embodies great divas of 20th-century cinema, such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich. In the same year, she presented the exhibition “Le Regard d'Estelle” in Paris, followed by an artistic residency at Espace Cardin. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of José Saramago's Nobel Prize, she was invited by Anabela Mota Ribeiro to illustrate the book Por Saramago with more than 60 photographs.
Between 2019 and 2020, he collaborated with GQ Portugal, where he took portraits of cultural figures. He taught photography at Academia Gerador for four years.
The year 2025 marks ten years dedicated to theater and dance photography. The celebrations began with the exhibition L'Art en Scène, at MIMO — Museu da Imagem em Movimento de Leiria (Museum of the Moving Image in Leiria), open from September 2025 to January 2026, and will culminate with an exhibition at the place where it all began, the São Luiz Theater, starting in March 2026.
He always tries to add poetry to his photos. He likes to photograph what does not exist.
