Zoe Laskari

Biography

Zoe Laskari (Greek: Ζωή Λάσκαρη, pronounced [zoˈi ˈlaskari]; 12 December 1944 – 18 August 2017 was a Greek actress and beauty pageant titleholder. After being crowned Star Hellas 1959 and representing Greece at Miss Universe 1959, where she was placed in the top-15, she switched to acting, where she had a brilliant career. She is considered one of the biggest stars of Greek cinema.

== Life == Zoe Laskari was born Zoe Kouroukli in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 12 December 1944 into a middle class family which had a long tradition of service to the Hellenic Army. Her father was murdered by the organization ELAS, during the German occupation in late 1943 and her mother was also murdered by ELAS in 1949, in the Greek Civil War. She was raised by her maternal grandparents. In 1959, she won the title of Star Hellas (Miss Greece). In order to participate in the pageant she added two years to her age, so that she could convince people that she was 17 years old. She went on to represent Greece at the Miss Universe pageant in Long Beach, California where she reached the semi-finals. However, while 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.

== 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 the criminal lawyer, Alexandros Lykourezos; they had a daughter, Maria-Eleni Lykourezou.

== 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. 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. 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.

== Death == Laskari died on 18 August 2017 at Porto Rafti, aged 72, from heart failure. She was survived by her two daughters.Her gravestone incorrectly states the false date of birth that Laskari had declared for her participation in the beauty pageant, namely 1942.

== Filmography ==

== References ==

== External links == Official website (in Greek) Zoe Laskari at IMDb