Рэна Влахопулу: Жизнь и карьера греческой актрисы и певицы

Greek actress and singer

Irene "Rena" Vlahopoulou (Greek: Ειρήνη (Ρένα) Βλαχοπούλου; 28 July 1923 – 29 July 2004) was a Greek actress and singer. She starred in theatre, musical, and Greek cinema productions, including The Gambler and The Countess of Corfu.

Vlahopoulou was born on the island of Corfu, the fifth of nine children. She first began playing the piano, taught by her father, Giannis Vlahopoulos. When she turned ten, she began singing at a local bakery; she was a talented dancer and actress and a qualified mezzo soprano. Over the course of her fifty five year career she appeared in 105 theatrical plays between 1939 and 1994, and twenty six films between 1951 and 1985. In 1939, Vlahopoulou and AEK Athens footballer, Kostas Vasiliou eloped to Athens and were married. She began singing at the Oasis varieté show in the Zappeion gardens, where Mimis Traiforos presented his new work. In the winter of 1930–40, she sang at the World Theatre of Kostas Makedos on Panepistimiou Street. The marriage with Vasiliou ended. In 1942 she married her second husband, a banker, Giannis Kostopoulos; the couple divorced in 1946. She married her third and final husband, Giorgos Lafazanis, on 18 September 1967. They remained wed until her death in 2004. Vlahopoulou had no children by any of her marriages. She left Finos Film in 1966 and moved to Karagiannis Karatzopoulos. From 1972, she continued to star in films for the next seven years. In 1992–93, she starred in the musical comedy Gia Tin Ellada Re Gamo To (Για την Ελλάδα ρε γαμώ το), after which she retired.

Vlahopoulou died on Thursday 29 July 2004 at the Athens Medical Center. She had entered the Medical Center on 16 July to undergo surgery as she suffered from a perforated stomach. Her medical report listed the cause of her death as cardiac arrest. on 30 July 2004, her body was showcased in a popular pilgrimage to the chapel of Agios Lazarus in the First Cemetery of Athens. On the day of her funeral, all shops in Corfu remained closed as a sign of respect as well as mourning.