The U.S. actress Olympic Dukakis, born Olympia Mary Dukakis, died on May 1, 2021, at 89. She was born on June 20, 1931.
Olympia Dukakis was an American actress, director, producer, teacher, and activist. She performed in over 130 stage productions, 60 films, and 50 television series.
She was best known as a screen actress who started her career in theatre. Not long after she arrived in New York City, she won an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1963 for her Off-Broadway performance in Bertolt Brecht’s “Man Equals Man.”
She later moved to film acting and won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, among other accolades, for her performance in Moonstruck (1987). She received another Golden Globe nomination for Sinatra (1992) and Emmy Award nominations for Lucky Day (1991), More Tales of the City (1998), and Joan of Arc (1999).
Dukakis’s autobiography, Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, was released in July 2003 and praised. In 2020, a feature-length documentary about her life, Olympia, was released theatrically in the United States.
Olympia Dukakis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Alexandra “Alec” (née Christos) (1898–1994) and Constantine “Costa” S. Dukakis (1899–1975). Her parents were Greek emigrants, her father originally from Anatolia, and her mother from the Peloponnese.
She has a brother named Apollo, who is six years old, and she is a junior. As a girl, she dominated sports and was a three-time New England fencing champion. She contended with pressures within her patriarchal Greek family and around her “in a neighbourhood where ethnic discrimination, particularly against Greeks, was routine.”
She is an alumna of Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts, and was educated at Boston University. There, she majored in Physical Therapy and achieved a B.A., which she used when treating patients with polio during the epidemic. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree after returning to B.U.
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Olympia Dukakis was a true powerhouse in the entertainment industry, with a career that spanned over five decades. She was known for her versatile acting skills and ability to bring complex characters to life on screen. Dukakis won several awards for her outstanding performances, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1988 for her role in “Moonstruck.”
In addition to her Academy Award win, Olympia Dukakis received three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nominations for her work in film and television. Her talent and dedication to her craft were unparalleled, and she will be remembered as one of the greatest actresses of her generation.
Celebrities and fans worldwide have been paying tribute to Olympia Dukakis, remembering her as a talented actress and a kind-hearted soul. Cher, who co-starred with Dukakis in “Moonstruck,” described her as a “brilliant actress and an amazing woman.” Meryl Streep also shared her condolences, calling Dukakis a “towering figure in the industry.”
Olympia Dukakis may have left us, but her legacy lives on through her unforgettable performances and impact on the entertainment industry. She will be greatly missed, but her spirit will continue to inspire generations of aspiring actors and actresses for years to come. Rest in peace, Olympia Dukakis.
