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

Family

Lambeti was born in 1926 in the village of Vilia,

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. 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 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. 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. 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; she was the female lead in the Greek productions of the following plays: * '' The Glass Menagerie'' by Tennessee Williams (1946) * '' Antigone'' 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'' 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'' by William Gibson 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'', in 1965 as Blanche in '' A Streetcar Named Desire''.

Late life and career

In the 1970s Lambeti starred in '' The Little Foxes'' (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. She successfully starred in theatre productions like Thornton Wilder's '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1980) and as Sarah in Mark Medoff'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, 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