Katina Paxinou

Birth Name:

Ekaterini Konstantopoulou

Birth Place:

Piraeus, Greece

Profession

Actress

Won a New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in 1943
Studied music and singing at conservatories in Geneva, Vienna, and Berlin
Started out as an opera singer and first appeared in the 1920 production of "Sister Beatrice․"
Best known for her role as Pilar in the 1943 film "For Whom the Bell Tolls․"
Formed the Royal Theatre of Athens with her husband, Alexis Minotis, in 1950
Later became a stage actress and appeared in several ancient Greek dramas as characters like Medea, Electra, and Hecuba
Made her London debut in the title role of Sophocles' "Electra" in 1939 and then spent several years performing in the U․S․ during World War II
Translated several modern plays into Greek, including those by American playwright Eugene O'Neill

Fast Facts