Melina Mercouri was born in Athens, Greece on October 18, 1920. She starred in many of Jules Dassin’s movies, and married him in 1967.

That same year, she lost her Greek citizenship for engaging in what Greece’s rightist government called “anti-national activities” for not supporting fascism. In 1970, Mr. Dassin was accused of sponsoring a plot to overthrow the junta. The charges were later dropped but they lived in exile in Paris until the regime lost power in 1974.

Mercouri then returned to Greece, entered politics and was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1977. She was the first woman to hold a Senior cabinet post "Minister of Culture" in the Greek government. In 1971 she wrote her autobiography titled "I Was Born Greek." Melina Mercouri died of lung cancer in New York City, on March 6, 1994.