As an actress she made her film debut in Stella 1955 and met international success with her performances in Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi and Promise at Dawn.
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Melina Mercouri Greek: Μελίνα Μερκούρη , born as Maria Amalia Mercouri October 18, 1920, Athens, Greece — March 6, 1994, New York City, New York was a Greek actress, singer and politician.
She was a strong advocate for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, that were removed from the Parthenon and are now displayed in the British Museum, to Athens.
A political activist during the Greek military junta of 1967—1974, she became a member of the Hellenic Parliament in 1977 and the first female Minister for Culture of Greece in 1981.
Mercouri was the person who, in 1983, conceived and proposed the programme of the European Capital of Culture, which has been established by the European Union since 1985.