Melina Mercouri Tribute
The Benakis Museum of Athens is presenting a tribute to actress Melina Mercouri, featuring an exhibition of memorabilia and artifacts from her life and career as a world-renowned Greek actress and politician.
Melina Mercouri starred with Anthony Perkins in Pheadra, filmed on Hydra in the early 1960s. Her other films include Stella, Never on Sunday, Topkapi, and Promise at Dawn. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival; she also received nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two BAFTA Awards.
A political activist during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, she became a member of the Hellenic Parliament in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece in 1981. In 1983, she conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture, established by the European Union in 1985.
The Melina Mercouri Hall, the venue for this exhibition, is named in her honor.