Rena Vlahopoulou

Irene Vlahopoulou (; 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.

Biography Vlahopoulou was born on 28 July 1923 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 1939–40, she sang at the World Theatre of Kostas Makedos on Panepistimiou Street.

The marriage with Vasiliou ended.

Her body was placed in a public pilgrimage at the Church of Saint Lazarus, in the First Cemetery of Athens, on 30 July 2004. She was buried at public expense on 31 July 2004, accompanied by the band of the Philharmonic Society "Mantzaros" that came from Corfu, and in the presence of many of her colleagues and ordinary people. On the day of her funeral all shops in Corfu remained closed as a sign of mourning. Her hometown honored her by naming the old "Mon Repos" Theatre the "Rena Vlachopoulou" Mon Repos Modern Theatre.

Filmography 1951: Anatolitikes nyhtes 1956: The Girl from Corfu 1962: Otan leipei i gata 1962: Merikoi to protimoun kryo 1963: Ena koritsi gia dyo 1963: Kati na kaiei 1964: I hartopaihtra 1964: Koritsia gia filima 1965: Fonazi o kleftis 1966: Randevou ston aera 1966: I vouleftina 1967: Viva Rena 1970: Mia treli sarantara 1968: I ziliara 1969: I Pariziana 1970: I theia mou i hipissa 1970: Mia Ellinida sto haremi 1971: Ziteitai epeigontos gambros 1972: I komissa tis Kerkyras 1972: I Rena einai offside (Η Ρένα είναι οφσάιντ; Rena Is Offside) 1979: Oi fantarines (Φανταρίνες; Women soldiers) 1980: Rena na i efkairia (Ρένα να η ευκαιρία; Rena, this is your chance)