Mary Chronopoulou, one of the most popular actresses in Greece in the 1960s and 1970s, died on Friday in Athens. She was ninety.
Recently, she was hospitalized in critical condition in the ICU of Evangelismos Hospital of Athens with severe brain damage after falling in her home. The former actress was on mechanical support, but as doctors had reported, her health condition was critical from the first moment she was hospitalized.
Born in Athens on July 16, 1933, Mary Chronopoulou established herself during the 1960s and 1970s as one of the most popular and important Greek actresses, enjoying great success during the Golden Age of cinema.
During that period, Greece had its own “Hollywood” in the shape of a thriving home-grown film industry. This industry was located around Kannigos Street and Academias Street in Athens, and it was here that all the offices of film and production companies, producers, and managers were based.
The biggest film companies at the time were Finos Films, Anzervos Films, Spentzos Films, and Damaskinos Michailidis.
Chronopoulou’s name is unknown beyond Greek borders, but her acting talent survived through the years, and one Greek generation after the other grew up memorizing the inspiring lines of her films or vibrant songs full of hope and wit.
Chronopoulou left her mark during the Golden Age of the cinema in Greece. She studied at the school of National Theater, and in 1957, she began acting in plays in the theaters of Athens.
In the movie industry, she started as an extra in the film Happy Beginning, by Dinos Dimopoulos, while in 1958, she took a small role in The Last Lie, by Michalis Kakogiannis.
In 1963, Mary Chronopoulou began starring in many dramatic films of Finos Film alongside great actors of the time, such as Nikos Kourkoulos, Phaidon Georgitsis, Dimitris Papamichail, Giorgos Fountas, and Alekos Alexandrakis.
Films that made her stand out were The Red Lights (1963 ), The Soil Was Painted Red (1966), Too Late for Tears (1968), The Avenue of Hate (1968), and many more.
In 1968, she was voted best actress of the Greek movie industry, winning the award of the Critics Association.
Mary Chronopoulou also appeared in three musicals by Yiannis Dalianidis, produced by Finos Film, which created some of the greatest, classic movies in Greece, in which she charmed the audience through both her acting and singing.
The actress also performed two of the greatest Greek movie songs, namely “I am a woman of revelry” and “Tou agoriou apenanti.”
On June 16, 2021, Mary Chronopoulou was honored with a Life Award at the IRIS Awards Ceremony by the Hellenic Film Academy.
Related: The Top Ten Films of Greek Cinema
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