Profile of Irene Papas on Famous Like Me

Irene Papas (Greek Ειρήνη Πάππας, born September 3, 1926 in Corinth) is a Greek-born actress who has starred in over seventy films in a career spanning more than fifty years.

Irene Papas was born Irene Lelekou (Ειρήνη Λελέκου) in Chiliomodi outside Corinth, Greece. She began her early career in Greece, achieving widespread fame there, before starring in internationally renowned films such as The Guns of Navarone and Zorba the Greek, and critically acclaimed films such as Z and Elektra.

She has recently appeared in the film, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and is currently working in theatre in Portugal.

International awards and honours

• 1962: Thessaloniki International Film Festival'(Best Actress, for the film Electra) — won
• 1962: Union of Greek Film Critics (Best Actress, for the film Electra) — won
• 1969: New York Film Critics Circle (Best Supporting Actress, for the film Z) — nominated
• 1971: National Board of Review (Best Actress, for the film The Trojan Women) — won
• 1985: Fennecus Awards (Best Actress in a limited role, for the film Into the Night) — nominated
• 1989: Australian Film Institute (Best Actress, for the film Island) — nominated
• 1993: Hamptons International Film Festival (Distinguished Achievement Award) — won
• 1993: Flaiano Prize for Theatre (Career Award) — won
• 2000: Madrid National Arts Institution (Career Award) — won
• 2000: International Festival Women’s films (Career Award) — won
• 2001: University of Rome (Doctorate in Arts and Letters) — won
• 2002: Woman of Europe Award (Career Award) — won

Trivia

• She was discovered by Elia Kazan.
• Federico Fellini was a huge admirerer of her work.
• She was a close friend of Katharine Hepburn, with whom she co-starred in The Trojan Women. Hepburn once said that Papas was "one of the best actresses in the history of cinema".

Quotations

• "Falling in love is like death... they are both facts".
• "Melina Mercouri was a star. I am a struggling idealist".
• "I never wanted to play sensational parts, or those of desirable women. I wanted to play me... the independent fighter...".
• "I never won an Oscar... and the Oscars never won Irene Papas".

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