From a musical family, de Moraes began writing poetry early in life. At the age of 14, he became friends with the brothers Paulo and Haroldo Tapajós, and with the latter composed "Loura ou Morena", his first song. In 1929, de Moraes enrolled in law school in Rio de Janeiro. Starting at 1932, he wrote lyrics for ten songs that were recorded by Tapajós brothers. When he finished his studies, he released his books Caminho Para a Distância (1933) and Forma e Exegese. Later, he became a cinema censor for the health and education cabinet (1935) and wrote his third book Ariana, a Mulher (1936).
Heading to England (1938) with an English government scholarship to study literature at Oxford University, he wrote Novos Poemas. At that time he was married by proxy. With the winds of the World War II, de Moraes returned to Rio in 1941, and began to write film reviews and critiques in newspapers and magazines. Two years later, he joined Brazil's diplomatic service and released his book Cinco Elegias. In 1946, he was sent to Los Angeles as vice-consul in his first diplomatic assignment, and released his work Poemas, Sonetos e Baladas.
Beginning 1950, de Moraes returned to Brazil due to his father's death. His first samba (composed along with musician Antônio Maria), was Quando Tu Passas por Mim, released in 1953, a year in which he moved to France as Brazil's embassy second secretary. His play Orfeu da Conceição won the IV São Paulo Centennial Contest in 1954. The next year he wrote lyrics for some of Cláudio Santoro's chamber music pieces, and later he staged Orfeu da Conceição, later translated to cinema as Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro, Marcel Camus, 1959), co-produced between Brazil, France, Italy and Portugal. He was then introduced to an unknown pianist, Tom Jobim, who was commissioned with writing the music for the play. Jobim composed the music of Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você, Um Nome de Mulher, and several others songs, that were recorded with LuÃs Bonfá, between others. Following a return to another diplomatic assignments at France and Uruguay, he released his books Livro de Sonetos and Novos Poemas II.
In 1958, the singer Elizeth Cardoso released her album Canção do Amor Demais, marking the beginning of bossa nova. This record consists wholly of compositions by the duo "Jobim-de Moraes", or by one of the two (Canção do Amor Demais, Luciana, Estrada Branca,Chega de Saudade, Outra Vez.), in a production that also brought João Gilberto onto two last tracks. After that record, the careers of all of them had great impulse, at time that the songs written by Jobim and de Moraes became disputed by singers.
Meanwhile, Black Orpheus won an Academy Award for best foreign movie, and also was awarded with the Palme d'Or official award in the Cannes International Film Festival, and the 60' British Academy Award. De Moraes, Bonfá and Jobim composed the original music for the movie.
In the 1960s, de Moraes extended his collaborations to many renowned Brazilians singers and musicians, particularly with Toquinho (de Moraes' most frequent partner and closest friend). His songs Para uma Menina com uma Flor and Samba da Bênção (with music of Baden Powell) were included on the soundtrack of A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une Femme, Claude Lelouch, 1966), a winner movie in the Cannes festival. Beside his Brazilian partners, hundreds of international performers have recorded more than 400 of his songs.
VinÃcius de Moraes died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the age of 66.
