Melina Mercouri
Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician
Cite this page
“Melina Mercouri.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
Melina Mercouri. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/
“Melina Mercouri.” thisDay. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/.
Who was Melina Mercouri?
Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (Greek: Μαρία Αμαλία "Μελίνα" Μερκούρη; 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a prominent political family for multiple generations. Mercouri was a member of the Hellenic Parliament, elected as a representative of PASOK. She has the longest tenure of any of Greece's Ministers of Culture, having served from 1981 to 1989, and then from 1993 until her death in 1994, during PASOK governments. Mercouri's political activism included her long campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Historical significance
She received an Academy Award nomination and won a French Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960) and an Italian David di Donatello for Topkapi (1964). Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and one New York Film Critics Circle Award during the course of her acting career. In 1987, she was awarded a special accolade in the first edition of the Europe Theatre Prize. In October 1981, she became the first female Minister of Culture and Sports.
Cite this page
“Melina Mercouri.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
Melina Mercouri. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/
“Melina Mercouri.” thisDay. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/melina-mercouri/.