Irene Papas

Born Eirini Lelekou in 1929, Papas built a career across more than 70 films and five decades, moving between Hollywood blockbusters and austere European drama. She played Antigone in 1961 and Electra the next year, then entered the international commercial stream with The Guns of Navarone and Zorba the Greek. By the late sixties she was the anchor of political cinema — Z in 1969 — and returned to Greek myth with The Trojan Women in 1971 and Iphigenia in 1977, winning Best Actress from Berlin and the National Board of Review. She also sang, recording Theodorakis in 1968. The Golden Lion came fr…