Martins was born in Faro, Portugal, and is of Cape Verdean descent. She moved to France at the age of three. She studied ballet in her youth and was the first person of African descent to join the Lyon Opera. She learned that she would be unable to advance to the Paris Opera, where the corps was expected to look alike and there were no other black dancers. Instead, she received her Baccalauréat with a theater option. After receiving a DEUGin law, at age 20 she studied at the École de théâtre Les Enfants Terribles in Paris. Then, she completed an acting degree at the extremely selective French National Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is fluent in Portuguese, French, and English.
Career
Early work
Shortly after graduating from high school, Martins was hired by Roger Planchon for a local production of Le Radeau de la Méduse at the Théâtre National Populaire in Villeurbanne. She appeared in a play at the Young Vic in London called Le Costume and in a French-language production of David Mamet’s Race. Martins' television debut was in 2001, in the French police series Police District. She appeared in the series Pigalle, la nuit as Fleur. While filming Death in Paradise, Martins worked on the French TV crime series Détectives as Nora Abadie.
''Death in Paradise''
In April 2011, BBC One announced that Martins would star in the crime comedy-drama Death in Paradise, co-produced with France Télévisions. The series was Martins' debut in both comedy and on British television. Martins did have experience playing a cop. Death in Paradise premiered on 25 October 2011. Martins played Camille Bordey, a detective sergeant on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. Camille and other local officers help British Detective Inspector Richard Poole solve murders. During a stunt for a 1st series episode, Martins tore her achilles tendon. She has said that during the production of Death in Paradise she discovered that some of her mannerisms are distinctly French. The 3rd series killed off Inspector Poole in the first episode and he was replaced by another British Detective Inspector, Humphrey Goodman. The fourth episode of the 4th series "Until Death Do You Part", was Martins' last; her character was written out as moving to Paris. Of her departure from the show, she is quoted as saying: "I’ve loved everything about the show. But the only way to grow in life is to take risks, even if it means losing something you love, or leaving a place that’s comfortable".
