Zoe Laskari

Zoe Laskari (Greek: Ζωή Λάσκαρη, pronounced [zoˈi ˈlaskari]; 12 December 1942 – 18 August 2017) was a Greek film and stage actress.

Zoe Laskari
Ζωή Λάσκαρη
Born	Zoe Kouroukli (1942-12-12)12 December 1942 Thessaloniki, Greece
Died	18 August 2017(2017-08-18) (aged 74) Porto Rafti, Greece
Resting place	First Cemetery of Athens
Other names	Zoitsa Laskari
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–2017
Spouse(s)	Petros Koutoumanos ​ ( m. 1967; div. 1971) Alexandros Lykourezos ​ ( m. 1976; died 2017)
Children	2
Website	zoelaskari.gr

Life

Zoe Laskari was born Zoe Kouroukli in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 12 December 1942[1] -- not 1943[2] or 1944,[3][4] as had been misreported during her lifetime and after her death -- into a middle class family which had a long tradition of service to the Hellenic Army. Her father was murdered during the German occupation in late 1943[1] and her mother in 1949 during the civil war, both by Communists.[1]

She was raised by her maternal grandparents. In 1959, she won the title of Star Hellas (Miss Greece) - in order to participate to the pageant she added two years to her age to be of age and went on to represent Greece at the Miss Universe pageant in Long Beach, California where she made it to the semifinals. However, while her being in the United States, it was revealed that she was still legally a minor, having obscured her true age. She refused to return to Greece and stayed in New York City for about 18 months.[5]

Marriages

In 1967, she married industrialist Petros Koutoumanos, by whom she had her first daughter, Martha Koutoumanou. Their marriage ended in 1971. In June 1976, she married criminologist Alexandros Lykourezos, by whom she had a second daughter, Maria-Eleni Lykourezou.[4]

Career

Due to her success at the beauty pageant, director Giannis Dalianidis, offered her the starring role in O katiforos, a 1961 film, whose success gave her a rapid popularity and she shortly signed an exclusive contract with the biggest Greek film production company at the time, Finos Film.[4] The films in which she appeared ranged from dramas to comedies and musicals. Some of her later movies were Stefania (1966) and Oi Thalassies oi Hadres (1967). Other Laskari film hits were Nomos 4000, Merikoi to protimoun kryo, Koritsia gia filima, Dakrya gia tin Ilektra, Mia kyria sta bouzoukia and Marihouana stop.[6]

Her stage work included famous plays like Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the ancient Greek tragedy The Trojan Women by Euripides and Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Her theatrical hits include the play Oi erastes tou Oneirou which was also her first play in Athens. Laskari's first television appearance was her leading role in the TV series Romaios kai Ioulieta in 1976.[6]

Death

Laskari died on 18 August 2017 at Porto Rafti,[7][8] from undisclosed causes. She had two daughters, Martha Koutoumanou and Maria-Eleni Lykourezou.[9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	O katiforos	Rea Nikolaou	box office: 161,331
1962	Nomos 4000	Maria Oikonomou	box office: 118,841
	Horis taftotita	Liana Mavroleontos
	O atsidas	Anna Kourouzou	box office: 69,414
1963	Merikoi to protimoun kryo	Eva Aggelou	box office: 212,247
	Iliggos	Elli
	Ena koritsi gia dyo	Myrto	box office: 386,817
1964	Egoismos	Maria	box office: 344,675
1965	Teddy boy agapi mou	Zoe Eftyhidou
	Koritsia gia filima	Tzeni	box office: 619,236
	Istoria mias zois	Marigo / Maria / Mairi
1966	Stefania	Stefania Karali
	Dakrya gia tin Ilektra	Ilektra Petridi	box office: 328,277
1967	Oi Thalassies oi Hadres	Mary Kaniatoglou	box office: 531,278
1968	Olga agapi mou	Olga Panagiotidoi-Vassileiadou	box office: 367,559
	Mia kyria sta bouzoukia	Anna Masourou	box office: 615,483
	Gymnoi sto dromo	Xenia Koumarianou
1969	Agapi gia panta	Eleni
1970	Aftoi pou milisan me ton thanato
1971	Marijuana Stop!	Kaiti Lagopoulou	box office: 312,260
1972	Aixmalotoi tou misous	Viky Kouvariotou	box office: 124,745
1973	Ston asterismo tis Parthenou	Koula	box office: 120,010
1974	Erastes tou oneirou	Zoe	box office: 70,456
1982	Anametrisi	Anna

References

1. "Zoe Laskari's parents' death" (in Greek). 21 August 2017.
2. "A December 1983 article covering the celebration of her 40th birthday" (in Greek).
3. Βιογραφία (in Greek). zoelaskari.gr. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
4. "Ζωή Λάσκαρη". finosfilm.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
5. "Βιογραφία - zoelaskari.gr" (in Greek). zoelaskari.gr. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
6. Zoe Laskari on IMDb
7. "Ζωή Λάσκαρη" [Zoe Laskarie]. finosfilm.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
8. Notice of death of Zoe Laskari, Thenationalherald.com; accessed 22 August 2017.
9. "Iconic Greek actress Zoe Laskari dead at 73". ekathimerini.com. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Greek)
• Zoe Laskari on IMDb
• Zoe Laskari at AllMovie