Melina Mercouri

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Category: Music

Published on Friday, 24 July 2020 08:17

Maria Amalia Melina Mercouri is a famous Greek personality. She is known for being a singer but also an actress and a politician. She was born in 1920 in Athens and died in 1994 at the age of 73.

 Daughter of Stamatis Mercouris and Eirini Lappa, she attended the National Theatre's Drama School. Before being a successful singer, she started her actress career. She did her debut in Stella in 1955 and had an international success with her performances in Never on Sunday 5 years later. She also played in Phaedra, Topkapi and in the American drama Promise at Dawn. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and was as well nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards and two BAFTA Awards.

As for her singing career, her first song titled Hartino to Fengaraki translated as Papermoon was written by Manos Hadjidakis and Nikos Gatsos. Although the recording of this song that is now famous is by Nana Mouskouri. Melina moved to France and therefore sang many french song like Athenes, ma ville.

Thanks to her political involvement during her whole life, after her death, UNESCO established the ‘Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes' which rewards outstanding examples of action to safeguard and enhance the world's major cultural landscapes.