Ellie Loukou ( el, Έλλη Λούκου; 13 April 1926 – 3 September 1983), known professionally as Ellie Lambeti ( el, Έλλη Λαμπέτη), was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

actress.

Family

Lambeti was born in 1926 in the village of

Vilia Vilia ( el, Βίλια; formerly Eidyllia, Ειδυλλία) is a village and a former municipality of West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is a municipal unit. It ...

Attiki Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

, to Kostas Loukos and Anastasia Stamati. She had six siblings. Her maternal grandfather was a Captain Stamatis who fought together with

Kolokotronis Kolokotronis (Greek: Κολοκοτρώνης) is a Greek surname. When used without any other context, it refers to the Greek warlord Theodoros Kolokotronis whose contribution to the Greek revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire, was determin ...

against the Turks in 1821, when the modern Greek democracy was created. In 1928, the family moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. During the war of 1940, she moved to the big neoclassical style house on Delphon and Didotou street where she had been living all her life. During the

Dekemvriana The ''Dekemvriana'' ( el, Δεκεμβριανά, "December events") refers to a series of clashes fought during World War II in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945. The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the c ...

in December 1944, her mother, who was in the house at the time, was killed by a loose shot fired amidst the battle. This took a significant psychological toll on Lambeti, lasting well into her adult life.

Early career

Ellie studied theatre at Marika Kotopouli's drama school. She made her first steps on the stage at the time of German occupation of Greece. She passed this difficult period as all her theatre colleges. In 1941, she was rejected from two theatre schools: the state one (Ethniko) and a private one named for the Greek actress

Marika Kotopouli Marika Kotopouli ( el, Μαρίκα Κοτοπούλη; 3 May 1887 – 11 September 1954) was a Greek stage actress during the first half of the 20th century. Biography Kotopouli was born on 3 May 1887 in Athens to actor parents, Dimitrios Kot ...

. However, Kotopouli herself recognized Lambeti's talent and hired her. She adopted the professional surname Lambeti and became a lead actress. She starred in ''Hanneles Himmelfahrt'' by

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

. In 1945, she met Marios Ploritis, her future husband, during the filming one of her first films, ''Adoulotoi sklavoi'' (1946). In 1946 Lambeti became one of the actresses who performed for the famous modern theatre director

Karolos Koun Karolos Koun ( el, Κάρολος Κουν; September 13, 1908 in Bursa – February 14, 1987 in Athens) was a prominent Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. Biography Koun was born in Bursa, Ottoman ...

; she was the female lead in the Greek productions of the following plays: * ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

(1946) * ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'' by

Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

(1947) * ''

Bodas de sangre ''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

'' by Lorca (1948)

1950s/1960s

In August 1950, she married Marios Ploritis, but their marriage collapsed in 1952 when she had a love affair with

Dimitris Horn Dimitris Horn () (9 March 1921 – 16 January 1998) was a Greek theatrical and film performer of modern times. Biography Horn was born in Athens in 1921, the son of playwright Pantelis Horn (himself descended from an Austrian father and Greek mot ...

. Together they produced and played in theatre in ''Libelei'' in 1953, in ''La Cuisine des Anges'' in 1953, in ''

L'Invitation au Château ''Invitation to the Castle'' (french: L'Invitation au château) is a 1947 satirical play by the French playwright Jean Anouilh. It was adapted in 1950 by Christopher Fry as ''Ring Round the Moon''. The play concerns twins, a cold, manipulative play ...

'' in 1955, in '' Quality Street'' in 1956, in '' The Rainmaker'' by Richard Nash in 1956, in '' Gigi'' in 1957, in ''

The Fourposter ''The Fourposter'' is a play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans 35 years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and Michael t ...

'' in 1957, in ''

Two for the Seesaw ''Two for the Seesaw'' is a 1962 American romantic-drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine. It was adapted from the 1958 Broadway play written by William Gibson with Henry Fonda and Anne Bancroft (who ...

'' by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

in 1958 and in 1959 in ''Dans sa Candeur Naive''."Ellie Lambeti-Biography"
Retrieved on 08 Jan 2018 The following years were dramatic for Ellie: her sister Koula died from cancer in 1955, her other sister Eirini died in a car crash in 1958, and Ellie lost a baby by Horn in 1956. In 1959 she met her

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

husband, the best-selling novelist Frederic Wakeman, Sr. She starred in

Michael Cacoyannis Michael Cacoyannis ( el, Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης, ''Michalis Kakogiannis''; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), sometimes credited as Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriots, Greek Cypriot theatre and film director, writer, produce ...

's Greek masterpieces like '' Kyriakatiko xypnima'' (1954), '' To Koritsi me ta mavra'' (1956), and ''

To Telefteo psema ''A Matter of Dignity'' ( el, Το τελευταίο ψέμα, translit. To teleftaio psema) is a 1958 Greek drama film directed by Michael Cacoyannis. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The Pellas are magnates who f ...

'' (1957). She also starred in '' Kalpiki lira'' (1955) by

George Tzavellas George Tzavellas, also rendered Giorgos Tzavellas, Yiorgos Tzavellas, or Yorgos Javellas ( el, Γιώργος Τζαβέλλας, 1916, Athens – October 18, 1976), was a Greek film director, screenwriter, and playwright. His filmmaking was particu ...

. Lambeti continued her theatrical career, in 1962 came ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry James ...

'', in 1965 as Blanche in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

''.

Late life and career

In the 1970s Lambeti starred in ''

The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the litt ...

'' (1973), ''Irma La Douce'' (1972), ''Miss Margarita'' (1975) and ''Filoumena Martourano'' (1978). And in spite of her success at theater her personal life was a fiasco: Ellie was involved in a legal procedure about the adoption of a girl named Eliza, from Spring 1970 till 1974, when she lost and gave the child back to its parents.Lambeti-Biography
Retrieved on 08 Jan 2018

Last years

The subsequent years were a fight against recurrent

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. She successfully starred in theatre productions like

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

's '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1980) and as Sarah in

Mark Medoff Mark Medoff (March 18, 1940 – April 23, 2019) was an American playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor. His play '' Children of a Lesser God'' received both the Tony Award and the Olivier Award. He was nominat ...

's '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1981), but her health was poor. She died in 1983 (3 September) from stage 4 breast cancer in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, aged 57.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambeti, Ellie 1926 births 1983 deaths People from West Attica Greek film actresses Greek stage actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from esophageal cancer 20th-century Greek actresses Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens