The phenomenon Juliette Freire, who conquered Brazil by winning Big Brother Brasil 21, continues to make her presence felt in the artistic and business scene, four years after the reality show.
In addition to being a lawyer, makeup artist, singer and presenter, Juliette has been, since 2022, a partner of household appliances manufacturer Mondial, working in the personal care line, various areas, such as marketing, product development and even in the commercial area. Today Juliette is a partner in the company.
In an exclusive interview with InfoMoneythe BBB-21 winner spoke about building her personal brand, the challenges of fame and being an influencer, her relationship with partner brands and even shared one of her plans for the future: investing in a makeup brand.
Take your business to the next level with the country’s top entrepreneurs!
“In the first few years I didn’t want to invest in any business. I didn’t know how much I would earn. I waited a few years. Now I’m at the stage of looking at it – and I want to invest in a makeup brand. It’s always been one of my biggest plans and the reserve is also counting on that.”
Read the main excerpts from the interview below:
InfoMoney: Juliette, you are responsible for a rare feat in Big Brother Brasil, a phenomenon that has not been repeated to this day. What was the process of creating and solidifying such a huge brand like?
Juliette: I really believe in the strength of my trajectory before, during and after BBB. I arrived there with social and intellectual baggage, a very consolidated conscience, which was put to the test and gained recognition and connection from the public in a very genuine way.
But I’m also aware that 2021 was a period where the population had its eyes and ears open to values, more complex things. And they looked at me in a more interested way. It was a social catharsis. Everyone who was suffering in some way, distressed, found themselves in that edition.
I believe that the connection was strong because of everything that happened and, mainly, because of the way I dealt with it when I left, always being consistent with who I always was.
InfoMoney: When you left BBB, you went straight to Anitta’s house, which represents a great privilege, but also brings pressure. How did this impact your music career?
Continues after advertising
Juliette: I think going to Anitta’s house was a peace of mind, not a burden. I already had this admiration and knew that she had already gone through many challenges, which gave me security and peace of mind – after all, I didn’t have the slightest knowledge about the universe I was entering.
Regarding public pressure: I felt it, but instead of a responsibility. After BBB, I wasn’t just Juliette’s daughter, sister, friend. I became a person who served as an example for people who looked up to me. It’s a burden of responsibility. Your words have other weights, your purposes, many things take on a weighty proportion, but not in a negative way.
I find this enriching, because you reflect more on the collective. It’s not just for me, for fame or money. It is for others, to be a reflection and inspire, to do it the way it should be done and serve as an example. But it was very difficult. I lost several parts of myself. I had to learn new things and it was much more difficult than I expected.
InfoMoney: You have a shareholding in Mondial. What is your work like within the company?
Continues after advertising
Juliette: Mondial has been with me since I left the reality show. Before, I had an ambassador role, but relationships became closer. The owner of Mondial, Giovanni Marins Cardoso, saw the interest and suggested my line.
I’ve worked in salons my whole life. My mother is a hairdresser and since I was little I have always worked in the salon. So I knew what the nozzle, the button, the cable, the air jet, the weight of the dryer, the entire design had to look like. I just materialized this knowledge into the product.
Today my work covers several areas, from marketing, product development, to sales strategies.
Continues after advertising
InfoMoney: Regarding advertising partnerships with other brands, I imagine you receive a lot of proposals, so how do you filter?
Juliette: I seek connection. Does this brand speak my language? Do the values align with mine? Will the product or service it brings be good for my audience? I try to understand the role, the values and how they connect with mine. But oddly enough, I said “no” to brands a lot more than “yes”. I’m not going to feel comfortable doing something I don’t believe in. The most valuable thing I have is the connection with the public and I will not break that trust for any money.
InfoMoney: You have already spoken in other interviews about your frequency of posting on social media. You seek balance; It doesn’t show everything about your personal life – even though this is a practice that is often required of influencers. So how do you understand yourself today? In addition to being a singer and presenter, you understand yourself as influencer?
Continues after advertising
Juliette: Also. I think everyone we are exposed to in some way is an influencer. We influence an audience, regardless of the number of followers or positioning.
I try to balance the posts, because this requires a lot of psychological and physical effort. But I don’t believe that this model of excessive posting, of content overdose, will be sustainable in the long term.
InfoMoney: You’ve also said that you don’t make decisions when you’re not well, you don’t say “yes” or “no”. Has this ever harmed you in any way?
Juliette: Yeah, it depends on what you consider harmful. But I lost opportunities because of that choice. I think it’s a choice. I don’t like making decisions when I’m not feeling well or I’m not sure. If I have doubts, I back off. This gave me opportunities and I have regretted it a few times. Today’s dynamics are very fast and sometimes opportunities don’t wait – even if they are a good opportunity. We have to understand that these are choices. But I don’t think it was a loss. I think I gained a lot more than I lost from this.
These days, in a meeting with the new brand, the executive said that’s why he was there [característica de não decidir sem tempo para pensar]. So brands recognize and value this, they understand that it is a responsibility.
InfoMoney: And how did you learn to organize your personal finances and your projects? Do you like to participate in decisions or do you prefer to leave it in the hands of experts?
Juliette: I am not an expert nor a scholar. I have always been a very economical person. I spend as little as possible and accumulate what I can, especially in relation to spending on myself – with family or work I’m more open. I have finance, investor, team, partners who do this in a more targeted way, but I supervise everything, together with a trusted legal representative. But, in terms of investment, I’m still super conservative.
In the first few years I didn’t want to invest in any business. I didn’t know how much I would earn. I waited a few years. Now I’m at the stage of looking at this – and I want to invest in a makeup brand. It has always been one of my biggest plans and the reserve is also counting on it.
InfoMoney: You helped your brothers with their house, car and even pay for the studies of some nephews who live with you in Rio de Janeiro. Can you identify when financial support is slightly exceeding your capacity? Do you have this filter?
Juliette: I was always that support person for my family before I had money. After the reality show, I made a plan for a window of time where I would provide the basics – housing, health and education, the best possible. This is not luxury, it is dignity.
There are many people in my family. I have four brothers, three married; seven nephews, a father and a mother, so it’s complicated. But my family is very aware.
I also calculated a time: my nephews’ generation, they will have 100%, health, education, But as soon as they graduate from college and they will help the family. I want to break the cycle. I broke the cycle of my generation. I was the only one of my brothers to go to college. And now, my nephews.
InfoMoney: Do you think that nowadays it makes sense to join a reality show? Do you think what happened to you could happen again?
Juliette: I think that when a person arrives on a reality show, they must be genuine. Do it in a unique way, it doesn’t need to be anything extraordinary. I didn’t do anything much – other than being me and bringing my story. I believe it’s possible that there are people even greater than Juliette, that the Juliette phenomenon in relation to Big Brother – I want to watch that.
But I would also give people advice: don’t expect a miracle – because I consider Big Brother almost a miracle. Get ready for life, because opportunities arrive. If Big Brother hadn’t happened in my life, I would be a champion in the same way. I wouldn’t have won a reality show, but it would have been whatever I wanted. I wanted to be an advocate, a delegate. I would have continued studying and taken the exam. I am absolutely sure of this, because I built an independent trajectory of a miracle.
