Irene Papas

Irene Papas

Today, we salute the great Greek actress Irene Papas, internationally recognized for her roles in classic films such as “Zorba the Greek” and “The Guns of Navarone’. Leaving us at the age of 96, Papas was a multi-talented actress who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning more than 50 years.

Among her latest roles was John Madden’s “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” in 2001 alongside Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz, and Manoel de Oliveira’s “A Talking Picture” in 2003, her final performance alongside Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich.

Discovered by the director Elia Kazan, Papas won Best Actress awards at the Berlin International Film Festival for Antigone and from the National Board of Review for The Trojan Women. Her career awards include the Golden Arrow Award in 1993 at Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Golden Lion Award in 2009 at the Venice Biennale.

Papas was also a talented singer Papas and released a solo album of songs by Mikis Theodorakis, while she also collaborated with Demis Roussos and Vangelis in many of their albums. The critic Clive Barnes said of her singing performance “Irene Pappas is known to the public as an actress, but that is why she sings with such intensity, her very appearance, with her raven hair, is an equally dynamic means of expression”.

As for her personal life, she was married and divorced twice in early age, but herself admitted that Marlon Brando, whom she met in 1954 and had a secret affair for years, was “the great passion of her life”.

With her long dark hair, pale skin and thick arched eyebrows, Papas became a symbol of Mediterranean beauty, but with the power of her talent and the charm of her personality, she
conquered the world of cinema and theatre. Scholars have noted that Papas was often photographed in profile alongside Hellenic sculptures to present her as the “quintessential idea of Greek beauty”.

We were proud to have you among us and we thank you for the legacy, Ms. Papas!