Antigoni Valakou ( el, Αντιγόνη Βαλάκου; 24 March 1930 – 12 November 2013) was one of Greece's most important film and stage actresses.

Biography

Valakou was born in Kavala in 1930 and her family moved to Athens when she was 16 years old. She attended the Dramatic School of Vasilis Rotas. She got her first theatrical role in 1946 and performed with the famous Greek actor Aimilios Veakis. In the early 1950s she became known as an “ingénue”, before joining the National Theater of Greece, where she starred in productions of plays by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, Charles Morgan, Bernard Shaw and Jean Anouilh, Arthur Miller and others. From 1958 she had her own theatrical group. She performed more than 120 roles including Maria Stuart, Hedda Gabler, Juliet, Nora, Bernarda Alba, Electra, Antigone, Cassandra, Medea, Agauë, Iphigenia, Jocasta, etc. She played Ophelia in a 1955 production of Hamlet and Electra (directed by Spyros Evangelatos) in 1972. Her most recent appearances on stage were in the title roles in

Martin Sherman Martin Gerald Sherman (born December 22, 1938) is an American dramatist and screenwriter best known for his 20 stage plays which have been produced in over 60 countries. He rose to fame in 1979 with the production of his play '' Bent'', which e ...

's ''Rose'' in 2000 and

Stephen Temperley Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

's ''Madame Flo'' in 2011. She appeared in more than fifteen films, and also worked in radio and television, mostly in plays adaptations. She was a teacher at the National Theatre of Greece Drama School for some twenty years. Her career spanned six decades and she received multiple awards for her performances throughout the years. In 1958 she was awarded the prize "Marika Kotopouli – Best actress". In 2002, she was recognized by the

President of the Hellenic Republic The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...

for her lifetime achievement. In

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

, her birthplace, the Antigoni Valakou theatre was named in her honour.

Death

Antigoni Valakou died on 12 November 2013, aged 83, in

Evangelismos Hospital Athens General Hospital 'Evangelismos' ( el, Γενικό Νοσοκομείο Αθηνών «Ο Ευαγγελισμός») is one of the largest public hospitals in Greece. It is located in a sub-neighbourhood of Kolonaki named after it, Evange ...

Filmography

* ''Nanourisma'' (2001) * ''Mikra preloudia'' (1998) * ''Paramoni protohronias'' (1994) * ''To eftihismeno prosopo tis Leonoras'' (1982) ..... Anna * ''O metanastis'' (1965) * ''Athoa i enohi?'' (1963) ..... Anna Apergi * ''Dyo manes sto stavro tou ponou'' (1962) * ''I Ellinida kai o erotas'' (1962) ..... Maria * ''Otan xypna to parelthon'' (1962) ..... Elsa Vellidi * ''Flogera kai eima'' (1961) ..... Rinio Vlahopanagou * ''Hamena oneira'' (1961) ..... Liza Zeringa * ''Krystallo'' (1959) ..... Krystallo * ''To amaxaki'' (1958) ..... Annoula * ''I moira grafei tin istoria'' (1956) ..... Anna * ''Tis tyhis ta grammena'' (1957) ..... Elsa * ''O dromos me tis akakies'' (1956) ..... Lena Petri * ''Golfo'' (1955) ..... Golfo * ''Oi ouranoi einai dikoi mas'' (1953) ..... Spourgitaki

External links

References

* http://www.tovima.gr/en/article/?aid=539050 1930 births 2013 deaths Greek film actresses Greek stage actresses People from Kavala {{Greece-actor-stub