Greek actress Maro Kontou dies at 92; funeral set for Friday at Athens Metropolitan Cathedral

Maro Kontou, one of the most luminous stars of Greek theatre and cinema, died on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, at the age of 92. She passed away in the morning hours at the General Anti-Cancer Oncology Hospital 'Agios Savvas' in Athens, where she had been hospitalised since early July following a serious deterioration in her health. Despite the persistent efforts of her doctors, the actress succumbed to cancer.

Her death was confirmed in a statement: 'It is with deep sadness that we announce that today, 15.07.2026, in the early morning hours, the well-known actress Marianthi (Maro) Kontou passed away at the General Anti-Cancer Oncology Hospital of Athens "Agios Savvas" after a serious deterioration in her health and despite the persistent efforts of her attending physicians.'

Final days and last words

Kontou had initially been hospitalised at the 'Attikon' hospital with a health problem. After a few days she was discharged and returned home, but her condition worsened. In early July she was admitted to Agios Savvas, where she remained until her final moments. Her close friend, painter Kostas Spyriounis, told the newspaper 'Espresso' about their last conversation. While she was hospitalised, he tried to reassure her that summer lasts until October and they would still go swimming. 'Yes, my Kostakis, let me put my feet in the water and then I can die,' she replied.

Yes, my Kostakis, let me put my feet in the water and then I can die.

Spyriounis also revealed her final message to her nephew: 'Call my friends and tell them I'm sorry that this summer we won't go together to Kamena Vourla.' The actress, he said, remained fully lucid in her last days.

A farewell in Athens

The final goodbye will be said on Friday at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, with the funeral to follow at the First Cemetery of Athens. The President of the Hellenic Parliament and close friend, Nikitas Kaklamanis, will deliver the eulogy. Kontou had once expressed a final wish to Kaklamanis: the next time their beloved group gathers for a meal or a game of biriba, he should place a cigarette and a glass of whisky in front of her empty chair, according to a Mega report.

A career across six decades

Born on 21 June 1934 in the Koukaki neighbourhood of Athens, with roots from the island of Psara, Kontou lost her father to tuberculosis when she was just two years old. Her mother remarried, but her second husband, a sailor, was killed when his ship was torpedoed during the war. 'Just as I was about to articulate the word "dad" again,' she once said. She grew up with her mother and grandmother, with neighbours including the family of Marios Ploritis, her friend Katerina Gioulaki, and Nana Mouskouri.

Kontou began her professional career at the National Theatre, and a collaboration with Dimitris Horn proved decisive. She soon became one of the defining leading ladies of the golden age of Greek cinema, closely associated with Finos Film. Her most iconic role was Elenitsa Kokovikou in the 1965 comedy 'I de gyni na foveitai ton andra' ('And the Woman Shall Fear Her Husband'), opposite Giorgos Konstantinou. She also formed one of the most beloved screen couples of the era with Lambros Konstantaras, co-starring in films such as 'O Gerontokoros,' 'O Stringlos pou Egine Arnaki,' and 'Krima to Boi sou.'

Goodbye my Elenitsa. We had agreed otherwise. A great friend has left. A great lady. Everything else is meaningless.

Tributes from colleagues

Actress Angela Gerekou, who played Kontou's daughter in the television series 'I Gi tis Elias' for five years, posted a photograph of the two embracing on set. 'I had the fortune to get to know you well, to work with you for 5 whole years, and to love you,' Gerekou wrote, calling her 'Mama Maria' after her character. 'Every meeting with you was a small lesson in ethos, dignity and joy for life.'

Actress Anna Fonsou, speaking on Action24, said: 'Her personality made her important, she insisted on her views, she was consistent in what she said. She was a charismatic woman, a great actress, an unusual woman for the days she emerged in theatre.' Spyros Bibilas described her as 'an emblematic figure of theatre, television, cinema, and life in general' and 'a very simple person who kept young people close to her.'

A life lived on her own terms

Behind the elegant, aristocratic image, Kontou carried deep personal wounds. She spoke openly about a childhood marked by loss and silence, and about her unfulfilled desire to have a child. In interviews given to the magazine 'Tachydromos' in 1975 and some seventeen years later, she revealed her vulnerabilities. 'I used to be different. I always had to convince myself that I was permanently in love. And that had its source in the complexes and the feeling of insecurity that possessed me,' she said in the 1975 interview, shortly after marrying advertising executive Giorgos Doxas.

She also carried a secret: a relationship with a married actor, which she never named publicly. 'In 60 years of career I had a relationship with only one actor, but I will never say who it was. He was married, he is not alive today, so what's the point of saying it? It was a story that perhaps hurt some woman, I don't know... I don't want to say it,' she once stated.

In 60 years of career I had a relationship with only one actor, but I will never say who it was. He was married, he is not alive today, so what's the point of saying it?

In September 2025, a photograph of Kontou went viral when she was spotted hitchhiking in Athens during a taxi strike. Katerina Akritidou, the passenger who picked her up, recounted: 'We saw her standing on the street. We stopped to say good evening. She politely asked us to take her somewhere because the taxis were on strike.' During the ride, Kontou intervened with the GPS, telling the women, 'Turn it off, I'll guide you.'