Sunday 18 October 2015

95th anniversary of her birth

Melina Mercouri
(25cmx30cm)
(Oil on canvas pad)

Melina Mercouri is a Classic Legend.
She was a Greek actress, singer and politician.
As an actress she made her film debut in Stella and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi, and Promise at Dawn.
She also won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and she was nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards and two BAFTA Awards.
She was a political activist, she also became a member of the Greek Parliament in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece in 1981.
Melina Mercouri was the person who in 1983, conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture, which has been established by the European Union since 1985.
She was a strong advocate for the return to Athens of the Parthenon Marbles, which were removed from the Parthenon and are now displayed in the British Museum.
She died on 6 March 1994 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York City from lung cancer aged 73. She was survived by her husband Jules Dassin. She received a state funeral with Prime Minister's honors at the First Cemetery of Athens four days later. Thousands attended her funeral.


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