Ana Paula Valadão

Profile Overview

Ana Paula Machado Valadão Bessa (born May 16, 1976) is a Brazilian Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and pastor. She is the leader of the contemporary praise band Diante do Trono, which has sold more than 15 million worship albums globally and has led worship gatherings of as many as two million people in attendance.
Under her leadership, Diante do Trono has released more than 50 albums, including live recordings, studio and children's projects such as the Crianças Diante do Trono.
In a single performance, held on July 12, 2003, during the recording of the album Quero Me Apaixonar, Diante do Trono brought together over 2 million people at Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo, being the largest audience of a Christian event in the world and the second largest audience in Brazil, second only to the Rock in Rio festival. Her band has also been a winner of the Talent Awards, by RecordTV and Promises Awards, by Rede Globo, and was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award in 2012 with the album Sol da Justiça.
Through the ministry Diante do Trono and her home church, Lagoinha Church, Valadão promotes various social, humanitarian and missionary actions, such as Projeto India, which combats human trafficking, the Missão DT, and other specific actions promoted during some of her live album recordings in Brazil and the Middle East. She is presently co-pastor of Before the Throne Church in Boca Raton, Florida, alongside her husband, Gustavo Bessa.
In 2012, she was named one of the 100 most important Brazilians of all time by a survey by broadcaster SBT in partnership with the BBC London. In 2013, she was cited by Forbes as the 89th most influential celebrity in Brazil.