Melina Mercouri
Acting · Writing
Born October 18, 1920, Athens, Greece
Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (Greek: Μαρία Αμαλία "Μελίνα" Μερκούρη, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a French Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960) and an Italian David di Donatello for Topkapi. Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award, three Golden Globes, and two BAFTA Awards in her acting career. In 1987 she was awarded a special prize in the first edition of the Europe Theatre Prize. Mercouri was a member of the Hellenic Parliament, elected as a representative of PASOK. In October 1981, she became the first female Minister of Culture and Sports. She has the longest tenure of any of Greece's Ministers of Culture, having served from 1981 to 1989, and then from 1993 until her death in 1994, during PASOK governments. Mercouri's political activism included her long campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. One of her greatest achievements was the establishment of the European Capitals of Culture, with Athens chosen as the first capital in 1985. Description above from the Wikipedia article Melina Mercouri, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
- 2002Lilly's Story — Writer
- 1978A Dream of Passion — Maya / Medea
- 1977Nasty Habits — Sister Gertrude
- 1975Once Is Not Enough — Karla
- 1975Songs of Fire — Self, Songs
- 1974The Rehearsal — Self, Producer
- 1970Promise at Dawn — Nina Kacewa
- 1969Gaily, Gaily — Lil
- 196610:30 P.M. Summer — Maria
- 1966A Man Could Get Killed — Aurora / Celeste da Costa
- 1965The Uninhibited — Jenny
- 1964Topkapi — Elizabeth Lipp
- 1963The Victors — Magda
- 1962Phaedra — Phaedra Kyrilis
- 1961Long Live Henry IV... Long Live Love! — Marie de Médicis
- 1961The Last Judgment — Foreign lady
- 1960Never on Sunday — Ilya
- 1959The Law — Donna Lucrezia
- 1958The Gypsy and the Gentleman — Belle
- 1957He Who Must Die — Katerina
- 1955Stella — Stella
- la loi — Lucrezia
Appearances as themselves (18)
- 2025The Marbles — Self - Photo Only (archive footage)
- 2020Melina Stop Frame - In Search of Modern Greekness — Self (archive footage)
- 2017Melina's fight for the Parthenon sculptures — Self (archive footage)
- Kronen Könner Kavaliere — Self
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
- Le Grand Échiquier — Self
- Samedi soir — Self
- V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
- Wünsch dir was — Self
- À bout portant — Self
- Dim Dam Dom — Self
- Die Drehscheibe — Self
- 196338-24-36 — Self
- The Merv Griffin Show — Self
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
- Discorama — Self
- Cinépanorama — Self
- What's My Line? — Self - Mystery Guest