Anna Kyriakou — Acting | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Anna Kyriakou (Athens, January 17, 1929 - October 13, 2025) was a Greek actress

She studied at the Drama School of the National Theater, but in 1954, having already begun her career in acting, she moved to Paris, where she attended two years of classes at the famous Charles Dulain School with professor Jean Villard. In 1945, as a first-year student at the National Theater School, she participated in Pelos Katselis' play "The Merchant of Venice" which was staged at the National Theater's summer theater in Klafthmonos Square. The famous director had chosen Kyriakou along with other young actors from the school to fill the roles. In the following years, and while she had graduated from the school, she met Vasilis Logothetidis with whom she collaborated in the plays “Miss 39”, “Delistavrou and Son”, “He Stepped on the Melon Peel”, “The Lady of Maxim” and “Neither Cat Nor Damage” in the role of Lolota. Upon her return from Paris, she starred alongside Dimitris Myrat, Alekos Alexandrakis, Dinos Iliopoulos and Mimis Fotopoulos in important plays by Greek and foreign authors, while from 1960 to 1981 she took part with great success in 34 plays by the National Theatre. In 1982, she accepted the proposal of Christos Politis and Antonis Antipas to collaborate with them in the play “The Tastes of Mr. Sloan” at the Aplo Theater of Kallithea. In 1998, she will appear for the last time in the theater with the play “Unplug the Minister” directed by Reppas - Papathanasiou.

Her debut in cinema took place in 1949 with the film “Erotic Journey” written and directed by Yannis Karydis and which is unfortunately considered lost today. A year later, in 1950, she crossed the threshold of Finos Film, participating in the legendary “Methystaka” by George Tzavellas with Orestis Makris in the title role. In total, she made four films under the Finos Film label, with the most successful in terms of performance being the 1961 comedy “A Liar is Wanted” directed by Yannis Dalianidis and based on the play of the same name by Dimitris Psathas.

In 1972, she made her first appearance on the small screen, participating in an episode of Kostas Mourselas’ satirical series “This and That”. Many more roles followed in various television series, but the one that made her particularly popular with the general public was that of the brioche Aunt Bebeka in 1990 in the unforgettable “Three Graces” by the writing duo Reppas – Papathanasiou.

However, her presence from 1972 to 1983 in important theatrical works in the context of the shows "The Small Theatre", "The Monday Theatre" and "The Big Theatre", as well as the recording of works by distinguished creators for the radio, was also important.

Her appearance in the cinema was also notable: "Safe Sex" (1999), The Cry Came Out of Heaven " (2001), "Oxygono" (2003) etc.

She took part in many TV series, from "He and That", "Our Neighbor" and "Yougerman" in the 1970s, to "The Three Graces" (1989 - 1992) in which she played the legendary Aunt Bebeka. She appeared in a guest role in "Constantinos and Helens", playing the role of Aunt Maros, as well as in "Seven Deadly Mothers-in-Law", where she played the evil mother-in-law. In September 2025, a book with her biography was published, entitled "An Actress, an Era". Anna Kyriakou passed away on October 13, 2025, at the age of 96.