Elia Zaharia (born 8 February 1983) is an Albanian actress, former singer, and the ex-wife of

Leka, Prince of Albania Leka, Prince of Albania (Leka Anwar Zog Reza Baudouin Msiziwe Zogu, born 26 March 1982) is the current head of the House of Zogu, the former royal family of Albania. At the time of his birth on 26 March 1982, the South African government, by ord ...

Early life and education

She was born on 8 February 1983 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. She is the daughter of Gjergj Polikron Zaharia (b. 1952) and

Yllka Mujo Yllka Mujo (born 15 October 1953) is an Albanian actress, especially known for her roles in Albanian movies during the communist regime. For her acting credits she was given the title Merited Artist of Albania. Life Yllka Muji (or Mujo) comes ...

(b. 1953), who are both actors. Her father is from

Përmet Përmet () is a List of cities and towns in Albania, town and Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qend� ...

while her mother's family come from

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. They moved to

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, a city in northern Albania, later during the monarchist period. She has a younger brother, Amos Muji Zaharia. Both her mother and brother are famous artists in Albania, her mother being a well-known actress, and her brother an actor and film director. In 2002, she graduated from the National Art School Jordan Misja in Tirana in art and scenography and later moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for her university studies, where she met Prince Leka. In 2005, she graduated from the National Conservatory of Bordeaux in art drama. She then attended a private French drama school in Paris,

Cours Florent The Cours Florent is a private drama school in Paris, France, established in 1967 by French theater actor François Florent. The school's facilities are located on three sites in the 19th arrondissement of Paris: Rue Archereau, Rue Mathis, and ...

, and then continued her studies in scenic acting at the

Paris 8 University Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is base ...

, graduating in 2010. She is fluent in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Career

Elia Zaharia has performed in several plays at the National theatre including: * 2011: ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

, Albanian National Theater * 2011: ''Bitter Love'' by Carlo Bruni, Albanian National Theater * 2012: ''Forget Love'' by Erion Kame, Albanian National Comedy Theatre * 2013: ''

Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

, Albanian National Theater * 2014: ''

The Sunshine Boys ''The Sunshine Boys'' is an original two-act play written by Neil Simon that premiered December 20, 1972, on Broadway starring Jack Albertson as Willie Clark and Sam Levene as Al Lewis and later adapted for film and television. Plot The play ...

'' by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

, Albanian National Comedy Theater * 2016: '' Three Sisters'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, Albanian National Theater Zaharia also acted in movies and performed as a singer. In 2002, she had the main role in 'Lule te kuqe, lule te zeza', while in 2008 she acted in the movie ''Honeymoon'' by

Goran Paskaljevic Goran may refer to: Ethnic groups *Gorane, or Goran, an ethnic group of northern Africa *Goran (Kurdish tribe), an ethnic group of the Middle East *Gorani (ethnic group), an ethnic group of southeastern Europe Other uses *Göran, a Swedish name * ...

. From 1999 until 2002, Elia took part in a musical band called “Spirit Voice”. In 2016 and 2018, Elia co-hosted

Kënga Magjike Kënga Magjike (; ) is an annual music competition organised by the Albanian television broadcaster Televizioni Klan. The music competition has been broadcasting annually since its inauguration in 1999 with the exception of 2020 and 2023. The f ...

, a major musical event in Albania, together with

Ardit Gjebrea Ardit Gjebrea (born 7 June 1963) is an Albanian television presenter, singer-songwriter and producer. Life and career Gjebrea began singing at the age of five in Albanian children festivals, he was awarded prizes at local competitions for in ...

Personal life

In Paris she met Prince Leka of Albania and in May 2010 they got engaged. Since then she has accompanied the Prince on all his visits and meetings with members of other royal families. She is also head of the Queen Geraldine Foundation, a non-profit founded by the Royal Court. According to its website, the "foundation aims to be close to the Albanian families who need help nd tochildren who need care." On 27 March 2016, it was announced by Prince

Skënder Zogu Skënder Zogu (born 3 June 1933) is an Albanian author and member of the House of Zogu. He is the son of Prince Xhelal Zogu, half-brother of King Zog. Biography Skënder (Alexander) Zogu was born to Prince Xhelal Zogu (half-brother of Zog I of ...

(b. 1933), a member of the Albanian Royal Family, that the couple would get married on 8 October 2016 in the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania {, class="wikitable" width="95%" , - bgcolor="white" !align=center, Residence !align=center, Photo !align=center, City !align=cen ...

in Tirana. The ceremony was a non-official ceremony, held in Tirana in the Royal Palace, with more than 300 members of other European noble and royal families attending. The couple's civil marriage was officiated by the Mayor of Tirana

Erion Veliaj Erion Veliaj (born December 17, 1979) is an Albanian politician who has served as the 42nd mayor of Tirana since 2015. Beginning as an activist and the leader of MJAFT!, Veliaj joined the ranks of the Socialist Party of Albania in 2011, where h ...

. Among the members of the Royal families, who attended the wedding were:

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica; Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: ''Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki''; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spai ...

Empress Farah Farah Pahlavi (; []; born 14 October 1938) is the former Queen and last Empress () of Pahlavi Iran and is the third wife and widow of the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She was born into a prosperous Ira ...

of Iran,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of George V, King George V. Prince ...

, Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia, Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg,

Princess Léa of Belgium Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 2 December 1951) is the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium. She is an aunt by marriage of King Philippe of Belgium. Early life She was born on 2 December 1951 as the daughter of Sigismun ...

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia (; born 23 December 1953) has been a claimant to the headship of the House of Romanov, the Imperial Family of Russia (who reigned as Emperors and Autocrats of all the Russias from 1613 to 1917) since ...

and other members from the royal families of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

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Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and members of other noble families. Heads of state of Albania also attended the ceremony. She gave birth to a daughter on 22 October 2020 at Queen Geraldine Maternity Hospital in Tirana, on the 18th death anniversary of Queen Geraldine, after whom she was also named. In January 2024, Princess Elia and Prince Leka both confirmed that they were getting a divorce. They divorced on 25 April 2024.

Honours

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Fidelity The Order of Besa (), also known as the Order of Fidelity, was established by Ahmet Zogu (later King Zog I) when he was President of Albania. Founded on 22 December 1926, it was initially awarded in four classes (1. Grand Cordon with star–'' ...

References

{{Authority control 1983 births People from Tirana Living people Albanian film actresses Albanian stage actresses 21st-century Albanian women singers 21st-century Albanian actresses Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis alumni Conservatoire de Bordeaux alumni House of Zogu Albanian royalty Members of the Albanian Orthodox Church

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Honours

See also

References