Portrait of Mairi Hronopoulou

Mairi Hronopoulou

Acting

Biography

Mary Chronopoulou (Greek: Μαίρη Χρονοπούλου; 16 July 1933 - 6 Octomber 2023) was a Greek actress. She was one of the most popular actresses of the 1960s. She starred in many films, 16 of which were produced by Finos Film. She was one of the main protagonists of Greek theatre and cinema. She was born and raised in Athens. She graduated from the National Theatre School, where she appeared in dance groups and in ancient dramas. In 1957 she began collaborating with the independent theatre, performing at the Acropolis in the plays by Alekos Sakellarios-Christos Giannakopoulos “The Lady” and “Romance of a Maid”. She first appeared in cinema as an extra in Dinos Dimopoulos’ Happy Beginning in 1954, when she was still a student. In 1958 she took a small role in Michael Cacoyannis’ The Last Lie. From 1963 onwards, she starred in dozens of dramatic films by Finos Film, and not only, in the roles of a damsel and a femme fatale, alongside all the male protagonists of the era, such as Nikos Kourkoulos, Phaedon Georgitsis, Dimitris Papamichael, Giorgos Fountas and Alekos Alexandrakis. Among these social and dramatic films, she also appeared in three successful musicals by Yannis Dalianidis: The Sea Beads, A Lady with a Bouzouki and Mermaids and Guys. In the period 1967-1968, she won the Critics' Association Award for Best Leading Actress. In her theatrical career, she collaborated with all the major troupes of Athens. In 1972 she formed her own troupe, with which she staged the plays: "What Time Will You Come Back, Penelope" by Somerset Maugham and "A Hot Girl" by Iakovos Kambanelis. She also had important performances in the new Greek cinema, such as in Theodoros Angelopoulos' films The Hunters and Journey to Kythera, while she won the Best Actress award at the Thessaloniki Festival with the film The Swallow's Children by Kostas Vrettakos, in 1987. On June 16, 2021, Mary Chronopoulou was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the IRIS Awards Ceremony by the Hellenic Film Academy. She passed away on October 6, 2023, at the age of 90.

Born: July 16, 1933

Place of Birth: Athens, Greece

Known For

Filmography

2019
The Other Me

as Matrona

1996
Towards Freedom

as Nina Horn

1993
Mana einai mono mia

as Μαίρη

1984
1982
1982
Panic in the Schools

as Biki (reporter)

1980
The Hemline

as Stefania Stavrpoulou

1980
Savage Hunt

as Irene

1977
The Hunters

as Diamantis' Wife

1973
Feminism

as Eleni

1970
The Jungle of Cities

as Nelli Rokou

1970
In the name of the law

as Tonia Evelpidi

1970
Visibility Zero

as Hristina Richter

1969
1968
1968
The Avenue of Hate

as Sofia Veneti

1968
1968
A Lady In Bouzoukia

as Elena Apergi

1966
Tears for Electra

as Lina Petridi

1966
The Fear

as Mrs. Kanali

1966
1965
The Ruthless

as Stella

1965
1964
Scream

as Anna

1963
The Red Lanterns

as Mary Pana

1963
Lazy like a dog

as Boubi Pelekanou

1962
Without Identity

as Jeanette Pavlidi

1959
1958
A Matter of Dignity

as Chloe's friend