ACTOR
Irene Papas
- Known for
- Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), Alexis Zorbas (1964), Lion of the Desert (1980), Non si sevizia un paperino (1972)
20 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Irene Papas is an actor best known for Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Alexis Zorbas and Lion of the Desert.
All facts (20)
- #001
In an interview, it was confirmed that Irene Papas had a relationship with her close friend Marlon Brando until his death.
- #002
Irene Papas spoke Greek, English, French and Italian.
- #003
In 2018 it was announced that she had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the previous five years.
- #004
Irene Papas has no intention of returning to Greece to perform in the theatre because she was constantly subjected to negative criticism. She played the role of the 1821 Greek heroine (when Greece was at war with the Turks) in the film Bouboulina (1959). She was a personal friend of Greek prime minister Andreas Papandreu.
- #005
Irene Papas has homes in Greece, Spain and Italy.
- #006
Starting in 1954, Irene Papas appeared in seven films alongside Anthony Quinn: Attila (1954), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964), A Dream of Kings (1969), the Mexican-produced short film El asesinato de Julio César (1972) shot in Rome, The Message (1976) and Lion of the Desert (1980).
- #007
She was given the title "Europe's woman", a title awarded to women who have contributed greatly to European civilisation. In her speech she performed a Greek folk song.
- #008
Federico Fellini was a great admirer of her work.
- #009
Like the other internationally renowned Greek actress Melina Mercouri, she recorded some records (now available on CD) that achieved classic status in Greece and are very popular around Greek Orthodox Easter. The records are titled 'Odes' and 'Rhapsodies' and contain 15 traditional songs and hymns belonging to the Greek Orthodox church. The songs and hymns were rearranged by Oscar-winning composer Vangelis. She also recorded songs by Mikis Theodorakis, but that particular album had been out of stock for decades, although it was said it would be re-released in 2004.
- #010
Irene Papas was discovered by Elia Kazan.
- #011
Irene Papas appeared in two different versions of "The Odyssey": The Odyssey (1968) as Penelope and The Odyssey (1997) as Anticleia.
- #012
She provided the (somewhat breathtaking) vocals on track 5 of disc 2 (titled only with the infinity symbol) of Aphrodite's Child's 1971 concept album "666", whose music was composed by Vangelis Papathanassiou. Vangelis played the album's keyboards and bass guitar, while some of the vocals were performed by Demis Roussos.
- #013
Irene Papas was a member of the Communist Party of Greece.
- #014
Franco Zeffirelli planned to have Irene Papas play the Virgin Mary in his film Jesus of Nazareth (1977), alongside an unknown Tunisian girl portraying the character's youth; Papas was close to 50 at the time. However, Zeffirelli decided that the twenty-five-year-old Olivia Hussey would play Mary throughout the series. Had Zeffirelli chosen Papas, she would have played the female lead in screen biographies of two of the world's most revered religious leaders back to back, having played Hind bint Utba in The Message (1976), the biography of Muhammad. She later portrayed the Holy Virgin in Un bambino di nome Gesu (1988).
- #015
Her mother, Eleni Prevezanou, was a teacher, and her father, Stavros Lelekos, taught classical drama at the Sofikós school in Corinth.
- #016
Irene Papas was the aunt of Aias Manthopoulos.
- #017
In 1991 she was set to appear in David Lean's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Nostromo. Lean's death in April 1991 ended the project.
- #018
Her career awards include the Golden Arrow Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 1993 and the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale in 2009.
- #019
In 1973 she was honoured with a photo shoot by Magnum photographer Ferdinando Scianna.
- #020
Irene Papas wore a European size 41 shoe, equivalent to a US size 9.
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