I Was Born Greek and Melina Mercouri’s move from film to political stardom

Melina Mercouri has often attracted scholarly interest as regards the construction and development of her public image as a star. The origins of her stardom are to be found in her role in Mihalis Cacoyiannis Stella , a film that paved the way for her international career as an actress, and in the role of Ilya in Jules Dassin’s Never on Sunday that established her as a symbol of contemporary Greece. The type of dynamic woman she represented became the core trait in most cinematic characters she performed. In association with her role as a ‘cultural ambassador’ of contemporary Greece they became the prominent characteristics of the public image she promoted in her political career in the 1970s and 1980s. Focusing on I was born Greek , my intention is to discuss how Mercouri in her autobiographical text presents and reworks the key elements of her image as an actress and incorporates them in her identity as a political activist. Her autobiography is a reference text that she ‘quotes’, when, as a politician, she performs and readjusts her star image in the 1970s and 1980s. My discussion is informed by the recent emphasis on performativity and agency regarding women’s – and in particular actresses’ – autobiographical writing and the construction of stardom.