Erotic, fatal, mysterious, charming, sexy, or, plain and simple, divine Stars. They were seductive women, who led a fanatic audience who was ecstatic about their acting performance and beauty. Women who left their mark in Greek and international cinema. Women who were rewarded with adoration, public admiration, praise, and recognition in acting. Below we present the most beautiful actresses that dominated the big screen, and that remained timeless with their dithyrambic acting ability and beauty.
JENY KAREZI
AN UNCODITIONAL MOVIE STAR
The most beautiful eyes of the old Greek cinema, are those of Eugenia Karpouzi or as she was known, Jenny Karezi. One of the most commercial, beautiful and popular stars of the greek cinema. Her blue cat eyes, her willing chin and her baby face made a great impact to the Greek cinema. Karezi sometimes was a strict lady at “Despinis diefthintis” (meaning miss manager), other times a romantic girl in “Enas ippotis gia tin Vasoula” (meaning “A knight for Vasoula), or a melancholic girl in “Erotiki simfonia” (meaning erotic symphony) and a fighter of the 1921 Greek war, as “Manto Mavrogenous”. She studied at the National Theatre and stared in countless Greek films such as “Laterna ftoxia kai philotimo” (meaning lantern, poverty and philotimos), “Ta kokkina fanaria” (meaning the red lights), “Lola”,” I nifi to eskase” (meaning runaway bride), “Lysistrati” and theatrical performances such as “Cherry Garden”,”Macbeth”, “The Living Corpse”,”Papissa Ioanna”,”Notre Dame” etc.) with great success and receiving rave reviews from audience and critics. The film that marked her life was “The concert for machine guns” as she met the love of her life, her husband, Kostas Kazakos, and created a beautiful family. Her life has passed beautifully through the years, between the worship of the public and the love of her family. Suddenly she died in her 60s, after a battle with cancer. Since then, she remains in our hearts and memories as the biggest drama and comedy star of the golden age of Greek cinema.
STATHOPOULOU MEMA
THE STAR OF THE GREEK MOVIES THAT PASSED AWAY EARLY
The blond girl with the wonderful body figure from Patras, the haughty eyes, rare beauty and the amazing performance is Mema Stathopoulou. Her many starring roles mainly in “film noir” and her establishment as the “cruel” and “spoiled girl” of the old Greek cinema has a place in our hearts and memories forever. The “tough woman” of the cinema, because of her appearance, her intense gaze and some of the roles she interpreted, “tortured” her male co-stars as the script demanded. She was characterised as the Brigitte Bardot of Greece, and apart from having a beautiful appearance, she was also considered an exceptional acting talent. Mema or Dimitra, in addition to her charm, she was made of a star material. She almost always played alongside her colleague, and great love of her life, Thanos Leivaditis and many others well known greek movie stars such as Kazakos, Voutsas, Negas, Voglis, Gionakis and others. Some of her most famous films are “I Parastratimeni” (meaning gone astray), “To koritsi tis orgis” (meaning The girl of rage), “Enas magkas sta salonia” (meaning A tough boy in high society) with Giannis Voglis, “Enas afragkos Onassis” (meaning a penniless Onasis), with Kostas Voutsas, “Oi Sferes den girizoun pisw” (meaning Bullets don’t return back) with K. Kazakos, “To ftoxopedo” (meaning the poor guy) with Thanos Livaditis etc. After creating a family that created she abandoned acting at the pick of her carrier, nevertheless her talent, her beauty, and the golden legacy of series of films she left us, will always make us memorize her as one of the most charming and talented stars of Greek cinema. She passed away at 55 years old, after a battle with the incurable disease.
Δημοσιεύτηκε από Μέμα Σταθοπούλου / Mema Stathopoulou 1943-1999 στις Τετάρτη, 30 Μαΐου 2018
SOPHIA LOREN
THE TIMELESS SEX SYMBOL
The Neapolitan diva began her career as Sophia Latsaro or Sophia Sikolone. Afterwards she signed a golden contract with Hollywood’s Parmamount and become the world’s most famous Italian actress. Loren symbolised for many decades the fiery sexuality wich matched with her acting talent ranked her as the first actress ever winning an Oscar for a female part. The first starring role was Verdi’s “Aida”. After that she stared at De Sica’s “Two Nights with Cleopatra”, De Sica’s “L’oro di Napoli”, “Boy on a Dolphin” (with Loren and Tony Marouda) singing in a Greek island, Hydra, the song “what is it called love”), “A day in Court” etc. co-staring with famous actors at the time, like Brando, Holden, Newman, Gable, Eiston, Sellers, Grant, Quinn. Great opponents of hers where the enigmaticly beautiful Cardinale and the sexy Lolobridgita. Her fee soared with “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (a million dollars). Along with Mastrogiannis they were one of the most legendary couples in cinema and they had a great chemistry. Her greatest movies were engraved with “Marriage Italian Style”, her second nomination, the amazing “Sunflower”, “Yesterday Today Tomorrow”, “A Special Day” by Etore Scola, again with Mastrogiannis. Loren possessed something of an aristocratic populism combined with a realistic dream, she was an Neapolitan fimosi. The Italian diva, who established herself as a global sex symbol and dominated the movie industry of the 60’s, is a real star with a fiery temperament.
BETTY LIVANOU
THE NEXT DOOR GIRL
Betty Livanou is one of these women that you wonder if she comes from this world or if she came out of a fairy tale. Betty Livanou or Despina Tratas, as it is her real name, with her loud and steady voice and her excessive charm, was one of the most special actresses of Greek cinema. Making a “flashback” we discovered that she suffered from her mother-in-law, in the movies, actress Tasso Kavvadia in the “I amartia tis omorfias” (meaning The sin of Beauty), and thirty years later she played a similar part in a greek tv series, as the cruel and intolerable mother-in-law in the masterpiece “Erwtas meta”(meaning love after) of Alpha channel. The dark hair girl with the expressive brown eyes who effortlessly became one of “Fino’s films”, Greek movie industry, most brilliant star, today she is a highly charming woman with her own family. She studied acting at the Karolos Koun Art Theatre. She has participated in many Greek films such as “Oi aggeloi tis amartias”(meaning The angels of sin), “Oi amartoloi”(meaning The sinners), “Kataxrisi exousias”(meaning Abuse of Power), “Epanastatis Popolaros”(meaning Rebel Popolar), “Minas tou Melitos” (meaning The Honeymoon), “Zitite epigontos gambros”(meaning A groom is urgently reguired), “Kokkinos kiklos”(meaning Red Circle) etc played in a lot of theatre productions and tv series. In 2010 she created the theatrical group Paiania-Fresh Water “En Lefko”(meaning In White) with which she gives performances, many of them are for charity. A woman with a classy style, angelic beauty that stole the men’s heart at her youth, she became a timeless star. Betty Livanou lives a happy life today, next to her husband and two daughters.
Μπέτυ Λιβανού!"Επαναστάτης Ποπολάρος" (1971)
Δημοσιεύτηκε από Γυναίκες του Θεάτρου & Κινηματογράφου στην Ελλάδα στις Πέμπτη, 15 Μαρτίου 2018
Δημοσιεύτηκε από Μπέτυ Λιβανού- Mpetu Livanou Fans στις Κυριακή, 27 Νοεμβρίου 2016
GRACE KELLY
A LIFE LIKE A FAIRYTALE
Lights, camera, action and so… a star like Grace Kelly was born. The blonde beauty of the golden age of Hollywood. Her life could be easily be a good screenplay of Hitchcock, whose she has been a muse and starred in many of his films such as “Rear Window”, “Swan”, “To catch a thief” and countless others such as “High Society”, “Ηigh Νoon “,” Fourteen Hours” etc. Grace was an angelic creature and she was synonymous with aristocracy and a men’s fantasy. The ultimate star abandoned her career and her bachelor life for the prince of Monaco. How many of us did not jealous her incomparable beauty and star material. Blonde, with a wonderful body figure, blue eyes and all-white skin like a swan. In addition of winning the hearts of millions of people, she also won the heart of Prince Rainier and no matter how much she wanted to see the lights of Hollywood again, she never succeeded. She dedicated herself to her family, proving that in addition to being a star, she was an excellent wife and mother. The end of her fairytale had a bad ending, with a the tragic death. The Princess of Monaco died in a car accident, falling with her car on a cliff in September 1982, leading the world into a great grief.
VIVIAN LEIGH
A PASSIONATE ACTRESS
The woman with the deep blue eyes, who shocked the cinema with her beauty and talent, is none other than Vivian Leigh. The ill-educated Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the wind” was dynamic, expressive with a great acting talent. Leigh’s porcelain British beauty did not stand in the way of leading many successful roles, such as “A Streetcar named Desire”, “Waterloo Bridge”, “Caesar and Cleopatra”, “That Hamilton Lady”, “Anna Karenina”, “21 days Together”. Vivian Leigh was mainly a theatrical actress and collaborated under the directions of director and actor Lawrence Olivier, who was also her husband. Blanche’s role in “A Streetcar named Desire” marked her in real life. Leigh was a real masterpiece as she managed to marry her rare British beauty with her acting talent. An award-winning actress and one of the most beautiful of all the times, she was awarded several Oscars for Best Actress for hee Leading Roles in Cinema and Theater. Vivian Leigh passed away after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. She was ranked 16th on the list of the 25 biggest stars of all times.
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