Name
Irene Papas
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1929-09-03
Deathday
2022-09-14 (93 years old)
Place of Birth
Chiliomodi, Corinth, Greece
Biography
Irene Papas or Pappas (Greek: Ειρήνη Παππά, romanized: Eiríni Pappá, born Eirini Lelekou [Ειρήνη Λελέκου]; 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a distinguished Greek actress and singer whose international career spanned more than five decades and encompassed over 70 films. She gained worldwide recognition for her passionate, statuesque performances and her classical Greek beauty, becoming one of the most iconic figures in Greek and international cinema.
Born in Chiliomodi, Corinthia, she studied at the National Theatre Drama School. She began her career in theatre and film in the late 1940s. She achieved international acclaim through her collaboration with director Michael Cacoyannis, starring in film adaptations of ancient tragedies such as "Electra" (1962), "Iphigenia" (1977), and "The Trojan Women" (1971)—the latter alongside Katharine Hepburn and Vanessa Redgrave. At the same time, she appeared in major international productions such as "The Guns of Navarone" (1961)—alongside Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn—Michael Cacoyannis’s "Zorba the Greek" (1964), Costa-Gavras’s political thriller "Z" (1969), and the epic production "The Message" (1976). Beyond acting, she also distinguished herself in music, collaborating with renowned artists such as Vangelis Papathanassiou (on the album "Odes") and Mikis Theodorakis.
Irene Papas received numerous awards at international festivals, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 2009. She passed away in 2022 at the age of 93, leaving behind an invaluable cultural legacy.
Known For
7.294
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable N...
5.939
When a fisherman leaves to fight with the Greek army during World War II, his fiancée fal...
7.5
An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life change...
7.3
Resistance leader Omar Mukhtar opposes Italian colonization before World War II. The bruta...
6.5
Ed Okin used to have a boring life. He used to have trouble getting to sleep. Then one nig...
7.161
Henry VIII of England discards his wife, Katharine of Aragon, who has failed to produce a ...
7.301
A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remo...
- 1979 Bloodline as Simonetta Palazzi
- 2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin as Drosoula
- 1964 Zorba the Greek as Widow
- 1976 Moses the Lawgiver as Zippora
- 1979 Ring of Darkness as Raffaella
- 1994 Jacob as Rebekka
- 1969 Z as Hélène
- 1961 The Guns of Navarone as Maria Pappadimos
- 1969 Anne of the Thousand Days as Queen Catherine
- 1981 Lion of the Desert as Mabrouka
- 1976 The Message as Hind
- 1979 Christ Stopped at Eboli as Giulia Venere
- 1964 The Moon-Spinners as Sophia
- 1969 The Odyssey as Penelope
- 1971 Oasis of Fear as Barbara Slater
- 1977 Iphigenia as Klytaimnistra
- 1971 The Trojan Women as Helen
- 1962 Electra as Elektra
- 1972 Don't Torture a Duckling as Dona Aurelia Avallone
- 1974 Bambina as Raimonda Spina
- 1967 We Still Kill the Old Way as Luisa Roscio
- 1968 The Brotherhood as Ida Ginetta
- 1956 Tribute to a Bad Man as Jocasta Constantine
- 1954 Attila as Grune
- 1987 High Season as Penelope
- 1971 Roma bene as Elena Teopoulos
- 1982 The Balad of Mamelouk as Mamluk's Mother
- 1973 The Battle of Sutjeska as Borina majka
- 1989 Plato's Banquet as Diotime
- 1987 Chronicle of a Death Foretold as Madre de Angela
- 1989 Island as Marquise
- 1953 The Man From Cairo as Yvonne Lebeau
- 1985 The Assisi Underground as Mother Giuseppina
- 1969 Behold Man - The Survivors as Anna
- 1961 Antigone as Antigone
- 1983 Erendira as Grandmother Amadis
- 1967 Witness Out of Hell as Lea Weiss
- 1987 A Child Called Jesus as Old Maria
- 1951 Dead City as Lena
- 2021 1821 at the Cinema as (archive footage)
- 1972 N.P. - The Secret as Casalinga
- 1985 Into the Night as Shaheen Parvici
- 1953 Vortice as Clara
- 1954 Theodora, Slave Empress as Faidia
- 1973 1931: Once Upon a Time in New York as Donna Mimma
- 1977 Blood Wedding as La mère
- 1992 Up, Down and Sideways as Μαρία
- 2003 A Talking Picture as Helena
- 1953 The Unfaithfuls as Luisa Azzali
- 1969 A Dream of Kings as Caliope
- 1966 Trap for the Assassin as Julia de Noirville
- 1981 L'assistente sociale tutto pepe... as La Signora
- 1954 The Missing Scientists as Gina
- 1996 Party as Irene
- 1998 Inquietude as Mother
- 1967 The Desperate Ones as Ajmi
- 1959 Bouboulina as Laskarina Bouboulina
- 1987 Sweet Country as Mrs. Araya
- 1948 Fallen Angels as Liana
- 1999 Yerma as Vieja pagana
- 1966 The Steps as Joana
- 1959 Pssst ... girls! as Eleni
- 1959 The Lake of Sighs as Frosyni
- 2008 Il falso bugiardo as Self (archive footage)
- 2001 ...and the train leaves for the sky as Elena Michailovna
- 1983 The Deserter as Mariangela
- 1984 Afghanistan For What?
- 1993 Un Amore Rubato
- 1993 Lettera da Parigi as Gina
- 1972 The Murder of Julius Caesar as Calpurnia
- 2021 Morceaux de Cannes
- 1969 Le avventure di Ulisse as Penelope
- 2002 Short Cuts ( 1 episode ) as Pensioner
- 1954 Climax! ( 1 episode ) as Maxanne York
- 1968 The Odyssey ( 8 episodes ) as Penelope
- 1989 Oceano ( 6 episodes ) as Aurelia Perdomo
- 1997 The Odyssey ( 2 episodes ) as Anticlea
- 1975 Les Rendez-vous du dimanche ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1982 Champs-Elysées ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1987 Ein Kind mit Namen Jesus ( 4 episodes ) as Old Maria
- 1988 La Valise en carton ( 6 episodes ) as Maria Amélia, la mère de Linda
- 1954 Reflets de Cannes ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1987 Sacrée soirée ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1974 Moses the Lawgiver ( 7 episodes ) as Zipporah
- 1955 MGM Parade ( 2 episodes ) as self
- 1991 Enopios Enopio ( 1 episode ) as Guest
