Zozo Zarpa (Ζωζώ Ζάρπα) (1939 – 19 April 2012) was a Greek television, film and stage actress. Zarpa studied at the

National Theatre of Greece Drama School The National Theatre of Greece Drama School (GNT Drama School) was founded in 1930, since when it has operated in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece. In its 75-year history a number of its graduates have gone on to become major actors and s ...

. She began her acting career by performing on stage in

Ancient Greek drama Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...

tic plays. In addition to her long film and theater credits, Zarpa founded the Themelion theatre, and co-founded a Greek drama school with her Elda Dimopoulos (her sister) and Yannis Negrapontis. She achieved a degree of fame in the United States in 2010 and 2011 when she appeared in a television commercial campaign for

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

' Athenos brand of

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...

and

Greek yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...

. The ad campaign developed by

Droga5 Droga5 is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Tokyo. History David Droga founded Droga5 in New York City in 2006. Droga said that he named the agency after the tag his mother used to sew into hi ...

, which was the first ever for the Athenos brand, featured the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

, "Approved by Yiayia." The commercials were shot and cast in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, leading Zarpa's role as one of the Yiayias, or Greek grandmothers. In Zarpa's commercial, her Yiayia character asks a young,

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

couple if they were married. When the couple says no, Yiayia immediately tells them that they are going to hell. The spot earned Zarpa new fans throughout the United States and Greece. As of 2012, her Athenos commercial had received more than 1,200,000 hits on YouTube.

Death

Zarpa died from a heart attack on 19 April 2012, aged 73, and was interred in a cemetery in

Chalandri Chalandri ( el, Χαλάνδρι, Ancient Greek: Φλύα, ''Phlya'') is a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is a municipality of the Attica region. Geography Chalandri is a suburb in Northern Athens, around fr ...

Attica 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 ...

, the following day.

References

External links

* * 1942 births 2012 deaths Greek stage actresses Greek television actresses Greek film actresses Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{Greece-actor-stub