- Zoe Laskari
Infobox actor
name = Zoe Laskari
caption =
birthname = Zoe Kouroukli
birthdate = birth date and age|1943|12|14
birthplace =
deathdate =
deathplace =
restingplace =
restingplacecoordinates =
othername = Zoitsa
occupation = actress
yearsactive = 1961 - present
spouse =Petros Koutoumanos (1967 - 1971)
Alexandros Lykourezos (1976 - present)
domesticdomesticpartner =
children = Martha Koutoumanou
Maria-Eleni Lykourezou
parents =
influences =
influenced =
website = http://www.zoelaskari.gr/
imdb_id = 0489598
academyawards =
afiawards =
arielaward =
baftaawards =
cesarawards =
emmyawards =
filmfareawards =
geminiawards =
goldenglobeawards =
goldenraspberryawards =
goyaawards =
grammyawards =
iftaawards =
laurenceolivierawards =
naacpimageawards =
nationalfilmawards =
sagawards =
tonyawards =
awards =Zoe Laskari ( _el. Ζωή Λάσκαρη, born
December 14 ,1943 ) is a Greekfilm andtheatre actress, one of the most popular inGreece .Biography
Early life
Zoe Laskari was born Zoe Kouroukli in
Thessaloniki , from amiddle class family which had a long tradition of service to theHellenic Army . At an early age she lost both her parents and was raised by her grandparents from her father's side. In 1959, at the age of 15, she won the title ofStar Hellas and went on to representGreece at theMiss Universe pageant inLong Beach, California where she made it to the semifinals. However, while her being in theUnited States , it was revealed that she was not an adult yet, as she had hidden her real age, and she was asked to return back to Greece. She refused to do so and managed to live alone inNew York City for a period.Career
Because of her success at the beauty pageant, Giannis Dalianidis, famous Greek film director, offered her the starring role in the film "O katiforos" in 1961. The success of the movie gave her a rapid popularity and she shortly signed an exclusive contract with the biggest Greek film production company at the time,
Finos Film , and it is impressive that her first movie was number one in thebox-office inMexico during the season 1962-63 and was played for 57 consecutive weeks in the cinemas ofMexico City . As a result she became one of the major stars of thecinema of Greece and starred in some of the most popular films, most of them directed by Dalianidis, who was her mentor, while she was described as his muse.Zoe Laskari, along with
Tzeni Karezi andAliki Vougiouklaki , were considered the three greatestdiva s and the most commercially successful female stars of the Greek cinema. The films she starred in ranged fromdrama tocomedy and musical. It is interesting that the leading role in her first film, "O katiforos", was given to her after Aliki Vougiouklaki had turned it down as too piquant. So, Laskari grabbed the chance and developed into one of Vougiouklaki's biggest commercial rivals.Some of her later movies made also a sensation abroad like the film "Stefania" (1966), which was screened for several weeks in 18
Europe an countries, while "Oi thalassies oi hadres" (1967) impressed theCannes Film Festival , although it did not officially contested, and paparazzi followed her everywhere during her stay inCannes . Among her magazine covers were those on the French magazine "Cine Monde" in 1967 and 1968. Other Laskari's great film hits were the movies "Nomos 4000", "Merikoi to protimoun kryo", "Koritsia gia filima", "Dakrya gia tin Ilektra", "Mia kyria sta bouzoukia" and "Marihouana stop".In 1965 she formed her own stable and made her stage debut in 1966 in
Cyprus , while she was studying at the Pellos Katselis Theatre School from which she draduated in 1969. But it was not until the decline of the commercial Greek cinema in the mid-1970s that she really concetrated on theatre. Her stage work included famous plays likeEdward Albee 's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ", the ancient Greektragedy "The Trojan Women " byEuripides andNeil Simon 's "Barefoot in the Park ". Her theatrical hits include the play "Oi erastes tou Oneirou" which was also her first play inAthens . Laskari's first television appearance was her leading role in the TV series "Romaios kai Ioulieta" in 1976.Personal life
Her personal life has always been on the forefront of the Greek media. She had once a love affair with the popular singer
Tolis Voskopoulos . In 1967 she married the industrialist Petros Koutoumanos, with whom she gave birth to her first daughter, Martha Koutoumanou. Their marriage ended in 1971. In June 1976, she was married with the criminologist Alexandros Lykourezos, having her second daughter Maria-Eleni Lykourezou.Filmography
External links
*imdb|0489598
* [http://www.zoelaskari.gr/ Zoe Laskari's website] el icon
* [http://www.finosfilms.gr/sudelestes.asp?id=154 Finos Film] el icon en icon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.