The great Greek actress Irene Papas dies at the age of 93

She participated in more than 60 films, including ‘Zorba, the Greek’ or ‘The Guns of Navarone’ Internationally known, she won numerous awards, including Best Actress at the Berlin Festival (1961) and the Golden Lion in Venice (2009) The Greek actress Irene Papas, famous for her appearances in mythical films such as The Guns of Navarone and Zorba the Greek, has died at the age of 93, as reported by the Ministry of Culture on Wednesday. Her owner, Lina Mendoni, has taken the opportunity to extol her figure. “Papas epitomized Greek beauty on screen and on stage,” she said in a statement. According to the Greek state news agency ANA, the actress died very early Wednesday and although the cause of her death has not been revealed, Irene Papas’s health had been known to be very fragile for some time. Internationally recognized She was one of the best-known Greek actresses abroad. She starred in some 60 films during her extensive career, which spanned six decades. 60 years in which she shared the bill with great actors and actresses such as Richard Burton, Kirk Douglas, James Cagney, Katharine Hepburn or Vanessa RedgraveIrene Papas had received numerous awards, including Best Actress in 1961 at the Berlin Film Festival and a Golden Lion in Venice in 2009 for her entire career.In addition to her native Greece, Papas was very popular in Italy, where she starred in numerous films and television series, including her last role in 2004.A long careerIrene Papas began his film career in Greece, where he quickly became popular. Discovered by Elia Kazan, her international fame came thanks to her performances in blockbuster productions, such as those mentioned above, The Guns of Navarone or Zorba the Greek, in which she co-starred with Anthony Quinn, as well as in Electra (1962) directed by Michael Cacoyannis. With this director she played a handful of heroines of Greek tragedies in a series of films: Antigone (1961), Iphigenia (1977) and The Trojan Women (1971), here sharing the bill with Katharine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave. Some characters from Greek mythology that Irene Papas has represented are Medea, Electra, Clytemnestra, Helena, Penelope and Anticlea. She also played characters from Federico García Lorca in Yerma and Bodas de sangre, and Catalina de Aragón in Ana de los mil dias. In the summer of 1988 she was invited to the Mérida Theater Festival, Spain, and presented a recital of the new Greek poetry in Greek and in Spanish translation, with perfect Spanish pronunciation and with the accompaniment of a piano that accompanied the sung part. the year 2002 was named “Woman of Europe” (Europe’s woman). A personal friend of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, she had an affair with Marlon Brando. The director Federico Fellini confessed on numerous occasions to be a great admirer of the work of Irene Papas. She was married to actor and director Alkis Papas from 1943 to 1947.