At the age of 96, the great actress Irini Pappa passed away.
The leading Greek actress died this morning, peacefully, at her home.
Simple, archaic, Doric figure, symbol of Greek beauty, famous representative of Mediterranean culture abroad, charismatic and dynamic woman, Irini Pappa became internationally known for her acting skills and her spirit.
In her career, she played important female roles in theater and cinema, fully embodying the power of ancient tragedy.
She was born on September 3, 1926 in Chiliomodi, Corinth as Irini Lelekou.
Irini Pappa started at the age of 15 as a radio producer, singer and dancer at various events.
In the meantime, she attended acting classes at the Dramatic School of the National Theater, then called the National School of Classical Theater with great teachers such as Giorgos Glinos, Nikolaos Paraskevas, Pelos Katselis and Dimitris Rodiris.
He first appeared in the theater in 1948 at the Lyric Stage, with the most important actors of the time.
In his autobiography, Alekos Sakellarios, writes that he first saw her at Syntagma square, in Athens.
Because of her appearance, dress and walk, she looked like a “living Caryatid”.
He introduced her to Finos and she acted in her first film in 1948, which was Nikos Tsiforos’ “Lost Angels”.
In 1951, she became internationally known with the social drama film “Dead State” by Finos Film, which was shown, representing Greece, at the Cannes Film Festival, directed by Frixos Iliadis and co-starring George Foundas (who appears for the first time in the cinema) and takes place in Mystas, Peloponnese.
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Three of the films in which Irini Pappa starred were nominated for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film, with Costa Gavras’ French-language “Z” winning, while two Greek films, big screen adaptations of ancient tragedies, Elektra and Iphigenia, were also nominated.
Irini Pappa participated in many Hollywood productions, while she also starred in the Broadway theater in 1967.
The great Greek actress lived her last years in Chiliomodi, Corinthia (the village where she grew up), with health problems due to Alzheimer’s disease.
