Varela was born in Cape Verde and married Joaquin Varela in the 1980s. They had two children, and he was a migrant laborer who periodically visited her. Joaquin died in 2013.[1] Varela made her film debut with a small role in Pedro Costa's 2014 film Horse Money.[2] She is a nonprofessional actress.[3] After befriending Varela during the filming, and as he got to know her, Costa realized that she deserved her own movie.[1]