Aliki Vougiouklaki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aliki Vougiouklaki
Αλίκη Βουγιουκλάκη
Vougiouklaki signing an autograph. Israel, 1964
Born	(1934-07-20)20 July 1934 Marousi, Athens, Greece.
Died	23 July 1996(1996-07-23) (aged 62) Athens, Greece
Education	National Theatre of Greece
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1953–1996
Spouse(s)	Dimitris Papamichail ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1975)​
Children	1
Relatives	Takis Vougiouklakis (brother), Antonis Vougiouklakis (brother)

Aliki Stamatina Vougiouklaki (born July 20, 1934 – died July 23, 1996) was a very famous Greek actress. She was also a talented singer and a producer for plays. Aliki was one of the most loved actresses in Greece. People often called her the "National Star of Greece."

She starred in many popular Broadway musicals that were performed in Greece. She also acted in several Greek tragedy plays. Aliki Vougiouklaki passed away in 1996 when she was 62 years old.

Aliki Vougiouklaki first appeared on stage in 1953. This was in a play by Molière called Le Malade imaginaire. Soon after, she made her first movie, The Little Mouse (1954). She acted in more than 41 films during her career. Most of her movies were very successful. In 1960, she won the Best Actress award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. This was for her role in the movie Madalena.

About Aliki Vougiouklaki

Aliki Vougiouklaki was born in Marousi, a town near Athens, Greece. Her parents were Emmy Koumoundourou and Ioannis Vougiouklakis. She had two brothers, Takis Vougiouklakis and Antonis. Takis later became a film director.

When Aliki was a student, she loved acting in school plays. This passion led her to want a career in acting. In 1952, she secretly tried out for the National Theatre of Greece. She passed the tests and began taking acting classes. She finished her studies there three years later.

Her Acting Career

Aliki's first role on stage was in The Imaginary Invalid in 1953. Her first movie, The Little Mouse, came out in 1954. She appeared in 42 movies, many of which were musicals. She also starred in television shows and many plays.

She often acted alongside Dimitris Papamichail in both movies and plays. In 1960, she won an award for best lead actress. This was at the first Greek Cinema Festival in Thessaloniki for her role in Madalena. Her movie Ipolochagos Natassa (1970) was the biggest box office hit in Greek cinema history.

In 1961, Aliki started her own theater company. She put on many successful plays. In 1962, she signed a contract to star in an English-language film. It was called Aliki, My Love. This movie was shown in London and New York in 1963. It was also shown in Athens in 1964. However, the movie did not become as popular as expected. Because of this, she decided not to try for an international movie star career again.

Journalist Eleni Vlahou first called her the "National Star of Greece" in 1959. This name became very popular. Her last movie was "Nelly, The Spy" in 1981. As Greek cinema became less popular, Aliki focused more on her theater career. She produced 53 plays. In 1975, she started putting on large-scale musicals. These changed the way Greek theatrical musicals were usually done.

In 2008, Aliki's son wrote a book about her life. It was called Eho Ena Mistiko (I Have A Secret). This was also the title of a song she sang in her movie Maiden's Cheek. A TV series based on the book was shown on the Alpha TV channel that same year.

Her Personal Life

Aliki Vougiouklaki married her fellow acting student, Dimitris Papamichail. They got married on January 18, 1965. On June 4, 1969, they had a son named Yiannis Papamichail. The couple later divorced in 1975.

In 1992, Aliki shared in an interview that she had secretly married Giorgos Iliadis. He was a businessman from Cyprus. They got married on January 25, 1982, in Athens. They had met in 1976. However, they divorced just a few months later for personal reasons.

Her Passing

In April 1996, Aliki was performing in Thessaloniki. She was starring in the Greek version of The Sound of Music. She started having bad stomachaches. She thought it was from medicine she was taking for bronchitis. After some tests, doctors found a serious tumor in her liver.

Aliki did not realize how serious her condition was at first. She kept performing for another week. Her last performance on stage was on April 28. The tour was then canceled. In Athens, a team of doctors found that she had pancreatic cancer.

On May 7, she traveled to Munich for more tests. She returned to Greece on May 10. On May 15, she went to a hospital in the U.S. to try and find a cure. She came back to Athens for good on May 19. On May 22, she entered the Athens Medical Centre. On July 14, she became very ill and could no longer communicate. After two months in the hospital, Aliki Vougiouklaki passed away on July 23, 1996. She was 62 years old. Her funeral was held in Athens Cathedral on July 25, 1996. She was buried in the First Cemetery of Athens.

Fun Facts

• The movie I Aliki Sto Nautiko (1961) was filmed on a real Greek naval ship. This ship, called Aetos D01, was once a U.S. Navy ship in World War 2. It is now a museum ship in Albany, NY.
• The film Chtipokardia sto thranio (1963) was made in both Greek and Turkish at the same time. Aliki starred in both versions. Her voice was dubbed (another person spoke her lines) in the Turkish version.
• She worked with writer Willy Russell when she performed in his play Shirley Valentine in 1989.
• Scottish writer Ali Smith used a picture of Aliki Vougiouklaki in her book Artful. The picture was from the movie Klotsoskoufi (1960).

Filmography

Cinema

Television