File:Statue_of_Melina_Mercouri_(5986565301).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Melina Mercouri
Sign in to saveAlso known as Maria Amalia Merkouri
Greek actress, singer and politician. Minister of Culture of Greece (1920–1994)
OverviewAI-generated
Melina Mercouri, born Amalia Maria Mercouri in Athens, Greece, was a Greek actor, singer, politician, and writer. She was educated at the National Theatre of Greece Drama School and spoke Modern Greek. Her professional career included roles as an actress and singer, utilizing her voice as an instrument. She was married to Jules Dassin and resided in Athens and Paris.
Mercouri received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and the Europe Theatre Prize. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her notable works include *Gennēthēka Hellēnida*, *Girisha waga ai*, *Illya darling*, and *I was born Greek*. She was a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.
She died of cancer in the Upper East Side on March 6, 1994, from natural causes. Her remains were buried in the First Cemetery of Athens.
Synthesized by Vinony from 37 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Europeana Sparql. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1920
- Died
- 1994
- Works
- 4
Top works
- Gennēthēka Hellēnida
- Girisha waga ai
- Illya darling
- I was born Greek
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
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…
Known for
- The Marbles — Self - Photo Only (archive footage)2025
- Melina Stop Frame - In Search of Modern Greekness — Self (archive footage)2020
- Melina's fight for the Parthenon sculptures — Self (archive footage)2017
- Kronen Könner Kavaliere — Self1984
- A Dream of Passion — Maya / Medea1978
- Nasty Habits — Sister Gertrude1977
- Once Is Not Enough — Karla1975
- Songs of Fire — Self1975
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self1975
- The Rehearsal — Self1974
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- Greece
- Active from
- 1920
- Active to
- 1994
Discography
- Je suis grecque / Le Portugais1970
- Melina Mercouri1971
- Je suis grecque1972
- L'œillet rouge1973
- Si Melina... m'était contée1973
- Greatest Greek Singers: Melina Mercouri1995
- Melina Melinaki1995
- Συλλογή Δίφωνο, 4: Μελίνα: Οι ρόλοι του τραγουδιού: “Στον Πειραιά… κι αλλού”1995
- Melina Mercouri1998
- …Μελίνα του Μάνου: Melina Mercouri sings Manos Hadjidakis2004
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 11,104
- Total plays
- 67,688
Tags
Melina Mercouri (Greek: Μελίνα Μερκούρη, born Maria Amalia Mercouri) (Athens, Greece, October 18, 1920 – New York City, March 6, 1994) was an Academy Award nominated Greek actress, singer, and political activist. She was a member of the Hellenic Parliament, and in 1981 she became the first female Minister for Culture in Greece. The most important person in her early life was her grandfather Spyros Merkouris, who was mayor of Athens for many decades. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Melina+Mer
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Maria
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- Greece
- Place of birth
- Athens
- Place of death
- Upper East Side
- Occupation
- film actor
- Educated at
- National Theatre of Greece Drama School
- Political party
- Panhellenic Socialist Movement
- Languages spoken
- Modern Greek
- Award
- Europe Theatre Prize
- Instrument
- voice
- Image
- Melina Mercouri.JPG
- Residence
- Athens
Show 14 more facts
- place of burial
- First Cemetery of Athens
- Commons category
- Melina Mercouri
- date of birth
- 1920-10-18
- date of death
- 1994-03-06
- ethnic group
- Greeks
- cause of death
- cancer
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Actress
- manner of death
- natural causes
- name in native language
- Μελίνα Μερκούρη
- birth name
- Amalía María Merkoúri
- relative
- Georgios S. Mercouris
- pseudonym
- Melina Mercouri
- start of work period
- 1945-00-00
- end of work period
- 1977-00-00
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
4 objects attributed to Melina Mercouri, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~17 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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 (1964). Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and one New York Film Critics Circle Award during the course of her acting career. In 1987, she was awarded a special accolade 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Melina Mercouri” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.