Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Coustas often performs as the character "

Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Euphemia (Greek: Εὐφημία). Notable people with the name include: Women * Effie Bancroft (1840–1921), English actress and theatre manager * Effie Boggess (1927-20 ...

", a stereotypical second-generation

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

prone to

malapropisms A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...

. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University in Melbourne, majoring in performing arts and sub-majoring in journalism. Coustas won the

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for Most Popular Comedy Personality in 1993.

Theatre

Coustas' initial claim to fame was in the comedy stage show ''

Wogs Out of Work ''Wogs Out of Work'' is an Australian play which was written by Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares, and Maria Portesi. It debuted in 1987 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was enormously successful, touring for a number of yea ...

'' alongside

Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas Giannopoulos (born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom ''Acropolis ...

George Kapiniaris George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom ''Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song. Professional background Theatre ...

and Simon Palomares. In 2019, Coustas joined the Shooshi Mango boys and Giannopoulos on stage in a show named ''Fifty Shades of Ethnic''.

Television career

Coustas appeared on the popular television sitcom ''

Acropolis Now ''Acropolis Now'' was an Australian television sitcom set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick ...

'', from 1989 until 1992, in the role of Effie Stephanidis. Since then she has appeared as Effie in other television shows and commercials. Effie also appeared in the interview show ''

Effie, Just Quietly {{Italic title ''Effie: Just Quietly'' was a satirical television series that screened on Australia's Special Broadcasting Service in 2001. It featured the iconoclastic Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) ...

'' in 2001 and hosted her own short-lived talk show called '' Greeks on the Roof'' in 2003. Coustas played straight dramatic roles in two police series: ''

Skirts A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

'' in 1990 and '' Wildside'' in 1998. Other roles include ''

Grass Roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

'', ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...

'' and ''

Good Guys Bad Guys ''Good Guys, Bad Guys'' was an Australian comedy/drama TV series that screened on the Nine Network between 1997 and 1998, with a telemovie and twenty-six episodes produced. The crime-themed show was set in Melbourne. The program and its lead cha ...

''. Her voice-over work includes '' The Magic Pudding'', ''

Hercules Returns ''Hercules Returns'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film directed by David Parker, starring David Argue, Michael Carman, Bruce Spence and Mary Coustas. The film has a cult following in Australia and other countries. It has been released in DVD fo ...

'' and ''

Always Greener ''Always Greener'' was an Australian television drama/ comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new ...

''. She also appeared as a guest on comedy game show ''

Talkin' 'bout Your Generation ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef. History Original run The first series ran on Network Ten for 18 epi ...

'' in 2012, and had a guest role in the drama '' Rake''.

Books and music

In 1992 Effie released a novelty single: a duet with another fictional character,

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

Norman Gunston Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He ...

. The recording was their version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''

Amigos Para Siempre "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)", also called "Amics per sempre" in Catalan, is a official theme song of the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The lyrics, written by Don Blac ...

''. Coustas's book ''Effie's Guide to Being Up Yourself'' was published in 2003. In her 2013 memoir ''All I know: a memoir of love, loss and life'', Coustas looked back over her career, and reflected on the lives and deaths of her father, grandmother and daughter. She co-starred in two comedic, mock music video entries for Eurovision, "Electronik Supersonik" (2004) and "I Am the Anti-Pope" (2006) starring Australian Comedian Santo Cilauro as a fictional Molvanian character Zladko Vladcik. Cilauro, along with Rob Sitch and

Tom Gleisner Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's ''Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Early life and ...

, created the popular

Internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

character Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik, a Molvanian

pop idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

style musician. Zlad was performed by Cilauro to accompany the Jetlag Travel Guide to Molvanîa. Cilauro was, with Sitch and Gleisner, co-author of the Jetlag Travel Guides to Molvanîa, Phaic Tăn and San Sombrèro.

Personal life

Coustas was born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. Coustas married George Betsis in 2005. In August 2013, Coustas and her husband announced in an interview with '' 60 Minutes'' that she was 22 weeks pregnant and expecting their second child in early December 2013. Their daughter Jamie was born on 28 November 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coustas, Mary 1964 births Actresses from Melbourne Australian film actresses Australian people of Greek descent Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Living people Logie Award winners People from Collingwood, Victoria Comedians from Melbourne Deakin University alumni