Miranda was born in
Fortaleza in Northeast Brazil. She moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1971 and studied classical guitar with the musician
Turíbio Santos.[2] Miranda has conducted extensive research on Brazilian indigenous music, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1986 that supported the creation of her early music.[3] In the 1990s, Miranda performed as a vocalist and guitarist with the Brazilian instrumental group Pau Brasil, whose album Babel was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.[4] The 1991 adventure film At Play in the Fields of the Lord, set in the
Amazon River Basin, features Miranda's contributions to the soundtrack and language creation for the fictional Niaruna tribe.[5] Her 1995 album Ihu Todos Os Sons presented music from the
Nambikwara,
Yanomami and Jabuti
peoples of Brazil arranged and performed by Miranda and featuring appearances by
Gilberto Gil and
Uakti.[6][7]
In 1998-1998, Miranda taught as a visiting professor at the
University of Chicago Department of Anthropology.[8] In 2003, Miranda was a Montgomery Fellow at
Dartmouth College and co-taught a class on indigenous music in Brazil.[9] Miranda was awarded the Brazilian
Order of Cultural Merit in 2002.[10]