Nilcéa Freire (14 September 1953 – 29 December 2019) was a Brazilian academic and politician. She was dean of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2004 she became a government minister, as the Special Secretariat of Policies for Women. From 2005 to 2007, she was the President of the Inter-American Commission of Women. Freire was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Freire died on 29 December 2019 of cancer in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 66.