Biography

Eleni Hatziargyri (Chalkida, 9 November 1923 - Athens, 1 October 2004), née Garyfallidou, was a Greek actress of theatre, cinema and television. Her family came from Constantinople. She studied theatre with Professor Karolos Koun. She was distinguished for her performances, mainly in dramatic theatre roles. She made her debut at the "Karol Koun" Art Theater in Henrik Ibsen's play Rosmersholm, in the role of Rebecca West. She collaborated with many troupes before arriving at the National Theater in 1950, where she was later hired as a permanent leading actress and remained there for twenty years (1962 - 1981). The theatrical types through which Eleni Hatziargyri excelled and established herself as a leading dramatic actress were ancient drama and the classical repertoire. Also in 1946, she began her appearance in Greek Cinema and almost forty years later on Greek television. In the early years, cinema gave her opportunities, which she seems not to have taken advantage of, perhaps because, like many other established actors of that time, she had the consciousness of a theater actor. She played in several films such as Katadrom (1946) by M. Karagatsis, I agni tou limaniou by Giorgos Tzavellas (1952) with Alekos Alexandrakis, I moira grefe tin historia by Dim. Ioannopoulos, Eglima sto Kolonaki by Tzanis Aliferis (1959), Irthes arga by the first Greek director Maria Plyta - Hatzinakos (1961). For forty years she was a professor at many drama schools. Critics wrote about her that she served the theatrical idea with consistency, modesty and self-respect. Karolos Koun had described her as a dramatic dame. In 2001 she was honored by the President of the Republic, Kostis Stefanopoulos, and on May 17, 2003, in a special session in the Great Hall of Ceremonies, Eleni Charziargyri was declared an honorary doctor of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

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