Melina Merkouri

Melina Merkouri, born in Athens on October 18, 1920, was a Greek actress and politician. Awarded with international accolades and a personality of world-wide recognition, Melina Merkouri was the Cultural Affairs Minister of the PASOK government.

Melina Merkouri's acting career started with her role in the 1955 film, "Stella", while later was in, "Never on Sunday" (1960), "Phaedra" (1962), "Top Capi" (1964), "Summer" (1966), and many more movies.

She won many awards among which the top-ranking award of first female performer in the Cannes Festival and also an Oscar nomination for, "Never on Sunday" – which she lost to Elizabeth Taylor in 1960.

Her theater career was enormous, as well. She worked with top renowned international directors and writers. During the seven-year Greek dictatorship, Melina Merkouri developed a great activity of resistance against the Military Junta, using her fame and the stardom she had gained, resulting in the removal of her Greek citizenship.

She died in New York on the 6th of March, 1994, overwhelmed by her prolonged fight with cancer.

▶︎ Eleftherios Venizelos
▶︎ Melina Merkouri
▶︎ Theodoros Angelopoulos
▶︎ Mikis Theodorakis
▶︎ Odysseus Elytis
▶︎ Vangelis Papathanasiou
▶︎ Irene Pappas
▶︎ Maria Callas
▶︎ Nana Mouschouri
▶︎ Aristotelis Onassis
▶︎ Kostas Gavras
▶︎ Nikos Kazantzakis
▶︎ Manos Hatzidakis
▶︎ George Papanikolaou
▶︎ Konstantinos Kavafis
▶︎ Andreas Papandreou