Rika Vayani, the well-known reporter, writer and TV hostess has passed away at the age of 56. She was suffering from lung cancer. The journalist had recently been admitted to hospital for treatment. According to protothema.gr, Rika Vayani was hospitalised in the intensive care unit of Henry Dunant hospital in Athens.
The reporter had chosen to give her battle against cancer in private as only members of her family were close to her during her final hours.
Marika Zoula (or Rika Vayani, as she became known), was born in Athens in 1962 to journalist Odysseas Zoulas and Varvara Drakou. She graduated from the Higher School of Dramatic Arts of the National Theatre in 1982. She had already started working as an actress from 1979 in the theatre and TV, while she was also writing pieces as a journalist and appearing on radio and Television. She was editor in chief of magazines “Cosmopolitan” and “Colt”, while was also a contributing writer to magazines “Ena”, “Kai”, “Tetarto” and from 1994 had a daily column in newspaper Apogevmatini.

She started working on TV, initially as an actress, while from 1986 onward she started working as a TV host-presenter and journalist. She had hosted numerous shows on Mega, Star, Seven X, Channel 5, and since 1997 she began her collaboration with state broadcaster ERT, which ended in 2012.