The actress Irene Papas. /
She became very famous for her performances in films like ‘Zorba the Greek’ and ‘The Guns of Navarone’
Greek actress Irene Papas has died at the age of 96, the Greek Ministry of Culture announced on Wednesday. Papas, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, “embodied Greek beauty on screen and on stage,” Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in a statement.
According to the Greek state news agency ANA, the actress died early Wednesday. Famous for her appearances in films such as ”Zorba the Greek” and”The Guns of Navarone”, Papas is considered one of the great Greek actresses of the 20th century alongside Melín Merkoúri. Irene Papas’s health, very fragile in recent years, had weakened even more due to her advanced age.
With almost fifty films behind her, Papas, born in Chiliomodi in 1926, also stood out as a singer and even recorded the albums Odes (1979) and Rapsodies (1985) with Vangelis.
The Greek (whose real name was Irini Lelekou) was the daughter of teachers. At the age of 15, she embarked on her artistic path, as a singer and dancer. At the age of 18, she married the writer Alki Papas, and although her marriage was short-lived, the actress kept the surname with which she became known worldwide. In his first steps on stage, he participated in productions of the National Theater of Greece in ancient tragedies such as «Medea» and «Electra» His film debut took place in 1948 in the film «Lost Angels» directed by Nikos Tsiforou and in 1962 he starred in the film adaptation of Euripides’ “Electra”, which won the award for best film adaptation and soundtrack at Cannes (1962).
Irene Papa has participated in more than 80 films, with shootings all over the world (Chinatown, Hollywood, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Morocco, Brazil, Australia, Portugal, etc.) with her co-stars, among others, Marlon Brando, Yves Montand, Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Richard Burton, Gian Maria Volode, James Cagney. In 2009, the Greek actress was awarded the “Golden Lion” at the 40th Venice Theater Biennale. With an intense personality, a charismatic woman with a deep gaze, Papas emerged as the representative actress of Mediterranean culture abroad.