Maria das Gracas Silva Foster — Brazilian Businesswoman born on August 26, 1953,

Maria das Graças Silva Foster, also known as Graça Foster, is a Brazilian business executive and chemical engineer. She was the CEO of Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, which is located in Rio de Janeiro. She was the first woman in the world to head a major oil-and-gas company. In April 2012, she was listed on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, she was recognized as the 16th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine. She was ranked by Fortune magazine in 2013 as the Most Powerful Woman in Business for the second year in a row... (wikipedia)

I always studied because I knew I had to. I needed to survive and take care of my mother.
It was not easy to get to where I am. My challenge is to learn to deal with the jokes that are common among men that I heard and continue to hear sometimes among men.
I am a focused person. I am a fighter.
We didn't have much money. My whole extended family used to help us, and buy us books and food. It was hard, and there were things I didn't want to talk about. But at the end I was a happy girl.
I lived in Complexo do Alemao until I was 12, dealt with domestic violence in my childhood and faced difficulties in life.