Kauan Gracie Reveals Photos of Ms. Belinha: The Woman That Changed Martial Arts History

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Photographs of one of the more important but unknown progenitors of the Gracie legacy have been unearthed.

In 2008, Reila Gracie was the first to discuss a secret, one hidden under lock and key for more than five decades by the Gracies, in her book, “Carlos Gracie: The Creator of a Dynasty.” In this publication, Reila identified a woman simply named Ms. Belinha, who played a major factor in how the Gracie family came together and grew into what it is today. Many years later, Rickson Gracie addressed the subject in his own book, titled “Breathe: A Life in Flow,” which came out in 2021. While most believed that Margarida Gracie gave birth to the legendary BJJ masters Rorion Gracie, Relson Gracie and Rickson Gracie, that is not the case.

Per both Reila and Rickson’s books, Margarida could not have children. Armed with this news, Helio’s brother Carlos had quite the suggestion to proliferate the family name. Carlos already created a massive family of his own, as the father of 21 children, and he convinced Helio and Margarida that they needed to assist him in building a so-called "dynasty of fighters." After a search, they turned to one woman in particular: Belinha, their housekeeper. She agreed to participate, and ended up birthing Rorion in 1952, Relson in 1953 and Rickson in 1958. All three grew up believing that Margarida was their biological mother.

After Margarida’s passing, Helio married Vera, with whom he had six more children: Rolker, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Rerika, Robin and Rici. At that time, Belinha left the Gracie clan and continued on with her life, and she kept her identity private and lived in absolute secrecy. Even as the story came out in Reila and Rickson’s books, a photo of Belinha had never been published, until now.

When honoring her grandmother, Kauan Gracie, the daughter of Rickson, posted on Instagram a pair of photographs of her family this past week. One photograph, she appeared as a baby alongside her brother, Rockson, as well as Rickson and his wife Kim, plus grandmother Belinha. Kauan wrote the words “don't forget your origins, my friend…don’t forget your family” in her caption, alongside hashtags like #GracieRoots and #VoBelinha. The other image contained Helio and Belinhna standing together many years ago.

Today, little is still known about Belinha, beyond that she is roughly 90 years of age and still prefers to keep her privacy. Residing in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she was able to build her own life by getting married and starting a new family. Although honoring her desire for privacy is paramount, it is impossible not to ponder her impact on the world of martial arts, had she instead resigned after hearing that indecorous proposal from her employers those 70 years ago. A refusal would mean she would not have given birth to the man who exported the challenges of Vale Tudo to the United States and created the UFC in Rorion, the main representative of the Gracie family in the 80’s and 90’s in Rickson, and the one who brought Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to Hawaii in Relson. The sport would not be what it is today without them, and they all have Belinha to thank for this.