Aliki Vougiouklaki

Aliki Vougiouklaki (Greek: Αλίκη Σταματίνα Βουγιουκλάκη, 20 July 1934 – 23 July 1996) was a Greek cinema and theater actress, singer and theatrical producer. She is one of the most popular actresses in Greece, and was often referred to as "the National Star of Greece". In 1950 she secretly took exams at the Drama School of the National Theatre, from which she graduated three years later with distinction. Before graduating from the School, she began her career in the theatre. Her first theatrical role was as Louison in Molière's The Imaginary Patient in 1953, while her first film appearance was in the film The Little Mouse in 1954. In 1960, she won the Best Actress award at the 1st Thessaloniki Film Festival for her performance in the film Maddalena, directed by Dinos Dimopoulos, while the same film represented Greece at the Cannes International Film Festival, where it left very good impressions. At the same festival, the 1959 film The Slapping Came Out of Paradise. In 1961, Vougiouklaki formed her own troupe, with which she staged the play My Fair Lady that winter, starting in Thessaloniki. In 1962, she staged George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra with well-known co-stars, directed by Alexis Solomos and musically arranged by Manos Hadjidakis, however, the performance did not go well despite receiving very good reviews, because the audience did not like Aliki with pitch-black hair as Cleopatra, resulting in her being withdrawn very soon. This was followed by the hugely successful works Beating Heart in the Chair in 1962 (the well-known film adaptation was made in 1963), Pass the First of the Month in 1963, etc.