Paulinho da Costa gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star, first Brazilian-born honoree
Paulinho da Costa’s Walk of Fame star spotlights a drummer’s footprint: 2,500 albums, 6,000 songs and a first for Brazil.
Paulinho da Costa’s new Hollywood Walk of Fame star put a percussionist, not just a pop name, at the center of the ceremony. The Brazilian-born session veteran received the 2,844th star in the Recording category at 1709 Vine Street, near Hollywood and Vine, with the unveiling streamed live and NBC4 News reporter John Cádiz Klemack serving as emcee. Larry Dunn and Ray Parker Jr. joined as guest speakers.
Da Costa’s honor lands on top of a recording résumé that reads like a map of modern pop and jazz. Born in Rio de Janeiro and drawn to percussion at age five, he has contributed to more than 1,000 artist projects, appeared on over 2,500 albums and played on 6,000 songs. The Walk of Fame biography names Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Sting among the artists tied to his work, and it points directly to landmark recordings including Thriller, We Are the World, All Night Long and La Isla Bonita.
That footprint is why the star resonates beyond the ceremony itself. Brazilian coverage said Da Costa became the first Brazilian-born person to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, while the Walk of Fame materials described him as the first Brazilian-born entertainer to be honored. Photo coverage showed his wife, Arice da Costa, and son Paolo at the unveiling, and Brazilian outlets reported that Da Costa thanked Brazil in Portuguese during the event.
The recognition also fits the long arc of an already decorated career. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce selected Da Costa for the Walk of Fame Class of 2026, announced in July 2025, after earlier industry honors that included the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Most Valuable Player Award for three consecutive years and its Musicians Emeritus Award. Reports also linked him to more than 40 Michael Jackson recordings, underlining how often his percussion sat inside the backbone of records that reached far beyond the credits page.
That is the real story behind the star at Hollywood and Vine: a player whose grooves have been heard everywhere, even when his name was not. The Walk of Fame tribute finally puts Paulinho da Costa where drummers have known he belonged all along, in plain view.
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