Maria Beatriz Antony, widely known as Bia Antony, is a Brazilian civil engineer, environmental advocate, foundation founder and the former wife of one of the greatest footballers ever, Brazilian Ronaldo Nazário de Lima.
She came into global public consciousness through her relationship with Ronaldo, survived one of football’s most discussed personal scandals during their marriage, had two daughters with him and ultimately divorced him in 2012.
Since then, she has built a rich and purposeful independent life, married businessman Marcelo Ciampolini in 2014, welcomed additional children, pursued environmental conservation work through her foundation and established herself as a prominent figure in Brazilian environmental advocacy.
Table of Contents
Maria Beatriz Antony Biography
She was born on November 3, 1983, in Brasília, the capital city of Brazil. Brasília is a planned city that became Brazil’s capital in 1960, giving Maria a very different upbringing from the environment in which Ronaldo Nazário grew up in Rio de Janeiro.
Her educational background is one of the most substantive aspects of her professional identity. Maria Beatriz Antony is qualified as a civil engineer, completing a university-level engineering qualification that requires extensive technical study.
Civil engineering encompasses areas including structural analysis, materials science, construction and project management.
Her education provided her with a professional foundation independent of her relationship with Ronaldo or her later public profile.
Details about her parents, family background and siblings have not been extensively documented publicly, consistent with her preference for keeping much of her personal life private.
She has maintained a public presence through her environmental advocacy, foundation activities and social media, where she has shared aspects of her family life and interests.
Career
Maria Beatriz Antony’s professional life has developed across several areas, including civil engineering, environmental advocacy and social entrepreneurship.
Her first professional identity was as a civil engineer. She completed her engineering education before her relationship with Ronaldo became one of Brazil’s most closely followed celebrity relationships.
Specific details about her professional projects and employers have not been extensively documented in reliable public sources.
Her more recent public work has focused on environmental advocacy and community initiatives. Through her social media presence and foundation activities, she has promoted environmental awareness, conservation and causes connected to sustainability.
Her work in this area represents an important part of her identity beyond her former marriage to Ronaldo. She has also developed a public profile through social media and lifestyle content.
Her online presence has allowed her to discuss subjects connected to family, environmental issues and her personal interests while maintaining a relatively private approach to many aspects of her life.
Ronaldo’s Ex-Wife
The relationship between Maria Beatriz Antony and Ronaldo Nazário became one of the most closely followed personal stories surrounding the Brazilian football star during the later stages of his playing career.
Ronaldo and Maria Antony began their relationship in 2007 and became engaged in 2008. Ronaldo was already one of the most famous footballers in the world at the time, having won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and 2002 and established himself as one of the greatest strikers of his generation.
Their relationship faced a major public crisis in 2008 when Ronaldo became involved in a highly publicised incident at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro involving three transgender sex workers.
The incident generated extensive media coverage in Brazil and internationally and placed significant pressure on his relationship with Maria.
Ronaldo said at the time that he had not initially known the sex workers were transgender. The episode became one of the most widely discussed scandals of his personal life.
Maria and Ronaldo briefly separated following the incident before eventually reconciling. The couple subsequently married in 2008.
Their daughter Maria Sophia was born later that year, followed by their second daughter, Maria Alice, in 2010. For several years, the family appeared together publicly, with Maria taking an active role in raising their daughters.
Their marriage ended in 2012. Neither Maria nor Ronaldo has publicly provided an extensive account of every private detail surrounding their separation, and claims about the specific reasons for the divorce should therefore be treated cautiously unless supported by direct statements from either party.
Following their divorce, Maria and Ronaldo continued to share parental responsibilities for their daughters. Ronaldo later married Brazilian model Celina Locks in 2024 after several years together.
Maria married businessman Marcelo Ciampolini in August 2014, approximately two years after her divorce from Ronaldo.
Their wedding marked the beginning of a new chapter in her personal life, and the couple later welcomed additional children.
Maria Beatriz Antony’s Net Worth
Maria Beatriz Antony’s net worth is estimated at $1 million, based on her civil engineering qualifications, entrepreneurial and foundation activities, lifestyle creator partnerships and the financial settlement that accompanied her divorce from one of football’s wealthiest players.
Her civil engineering qualification provides ongoing income potential through professional work that is entirely independent of any celebrity connection.
Her foundation work, while primarily philanthropic in focus, has also generated greater visibility and partnerships with potential commercial dimensions.
She could also be earning addition income with her Instagram and lifestyle creator activities through brand partnerships aligned with her environmental advocacy and personal interests.
Her ex-husband, Ronaldo Nazário, has an estimated net worth of $160 million, accumulated through his football career with clubs including Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, as well as his time with the Brazilian national team and his post-retirement business investments.
The financial settlement from her divorce from Ronaldo and any ongoing child support arrangements for Maria Sophia and Maria Alice may have contributed to Maria’s financial stability in the years since their 2012 separation.