The singer, actress and businesswoman Gil died on Sunday (20), at the age of 50, in the United States, where she was experimental treatment against colorectal cancer. Diagnosed in January 2023, she underwent surgery and therapies in Brazil before seeking alternatives abroad.
Black has been hospitalized in Washington since May, when it was included in an alternative medical protocol. Prior to that, he underwent surgery of more than 18 hours at the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in São Paulo for the removal of multiple tumors. The procedure was considered high risk.
In August 2024, the singer revealed that cancer had returned in four regions of the body: two lymph nodes, the ureter and the peritoneum. Despite the aggravation, he maintained posts on social networks, sharing with fans behind the scenes of treatment. “My chance is now out of Brazil,” he said in participation in “Domingão with Huck.”
Diagnosis and disease progression
Black was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in the large intestine. He began treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and even announced the remission of cancer. However, the picture worsened in 2024, demanding new hospitalizations. In May 2025, he began treatment at the Virginia Cancer Institute in Washington and underwent examinations at the Sloan Kettering Memorial in New York. The decision to seek care abroad came after the conclusion that all alternatives in Brazil had run out.
Trajectory in music, TV and business
Daughter of Gilberto Gil with Sandra Gadelha, Preta Maria Gadelha Gil Moreira debuted in the song in 2003 with the album “Prêt-à-Porter”. The cover, in which it appeared naked, caused controversy and marked its challenging posture to aesthetic standards. Also released records like “Black” (2005), “I am as I am” (2012) e “All colors” (2017), with a mix of pop, funk, samba and MPB. In 2009, he created the Black Block, one of the largest of Rio Carnival.
On TV, acted in soap operas like “Paths of the Heart” e “Full of Charm”besides series and programs like the talk show “Come on”in the GNT. In the cinema, he was in films like “By pig” e “Family Crô”. In 2017, he co -founded Mynd, focused on influence marketing, music and inclusion.
Personal life, activism and legacy
Preta was married three times and had a son, Francisco, with actor Otávio Müller. He also had relations with Carlos Henrique Lima and Rodrigo Godoy – with whom he separated after discovering a betrayal during treatment.
Declared bisexual from a young age, it was an active voice in defending the LGBTQIA+community, in the fight against fatophobia, racism, machismo and intolerance. It became a symbol of empowerment and freedom.
In August 2024, he celebrated 50 years with a big party in Rio and launched his autobiography, “Preta Gil: The First 50” (Globo Books). In the book, reflected:
“I lived a lot of ups and downs. It was not a fake life. It was lived with all the good and bad. I faced the prejudice head on and learned to assert myself in each fall.”
