Teresa Nicolao (born February 8, 1928) is a Brazilian artist, designer and film maker. She was born Maria Tereza Joaquim Nicolao in Rio de Janeiro. Nicalao studied graphic arts and design with Axel Leskoscheck at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas. In 1949, she went to Paris, where she studied with Fernand Léger, André Lhote, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and Árpád Szenes. Later the following year, she moved to São Paulo, where she worked as a set designer for . In 1954, Nicolao returned to Rio de Janeiro, where she resumed painting, working in the studio of Candido Portinari. She began painting geometric works inspired by the favelas; her later work became more abstract. She also worked on set design for several films.