Betty Valassi
Biography
Betty Valassi was born in Thessaloniki to parents who were refugees from Asia Minor. Her real name is Despo, but her mother changed it to 'Betty'. She studied theatre under great teachers, such as Hourmouzios, Katina Paxinou, Terzakis and Socrates Karantinos. From 1960 to 2004 she acted in at least 14 Greek feature films by renowned directors. She became widely known and popular with the public through her starring role in the successful – and last black and white – television series Loxandra, which was broadcast by ERT in the period 1980-1981. She played the eponymous role, which according to critics was the best of her career. She was married twice and had a son, Nikolas-Haris Minissali, who studied directing abroad. Her second husband was the well-known actor Titos Vandis, whom she married in 1984 and remained together until his death in 2003. She was closely friends with Melina Mercouri, with whom she acted in theater and film. [Source: Wikipedia]
Known For & Full Filmography16 Titles
Drama Series - 1992, 16 episodes • as Δέσποινα
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Drama Series - 1980, 16 episodes • as Λωξάντρα
Loxandra is a Greek mother and wife living the ordinary life of a well to-do Greek family in Constantinoupolis of the late 1800s-early 1900s, a world gone forever. Historical events intrude in the background -revolutions, palace coups, massacres, and the great upheavals of WW1 in which Greeks saw their wildest hopes fulfilled, then dashed: for a brief time Constantinoupolis itself was regained, then lost along with all Asia Minor. Through troubles great and small, Loxandra's simple optimism, belief in her Virgin Mary, and love of life carries her family past every difficulty - be it a sumptuous dinner for Easter or secretly giving away her savings to help persecuted Armenians. A representation of a time and place where all neighbors were friends, where they could cook in each other's kitchens or take shelter in each other's cellars.
Drama Series - 2004, 16 episodes • as Marika
Vicky Stavropoulou plays the ghost of a woman who, invisible to ordinary mortals, watches, narrates and intervenes for good in various family affairs starring mothers-in-law with many different characters.
Movie - 1967, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Thirty-year-old lower middle class Dimitris, faint-hearted and not particularly ambitious, is ready to jump at the opportunity that will get him handsomely provided. He wavers between yesterday, the German occupation nightmare and his love debut with a neighbour and contemporary, fluid reality. He meets Thaleia, a rich woman his age, who frequents the same night club as him, but his daily routine is invariably the same. The closure of the small industry in Drapetsona, where he used to work for the last 8 years, and his relationship with Maria confront him with a different reality. Maria is a progressive, evening school teacher, full of dreams.
Movie - 2004, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
The world of adults through the eyes of a child: Intrigues, joyous breaks, illusory and conflicting interests, misunderstood pursuit of love, gestures of affection, dull faces, all make up the background of 7 years - the pinnacle of kitsch - captured on an old-fashioned movie poster at the edge of a dirt road in Thriasio Pedio.
Drama Series - 1984, 16 episodes • as μαντάμ Ροζέτα
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1987, 2h 15m • as Sara
An American couple in Chile is drawn into the turmoil that followed President Salvador Allende's 1973 overthrow.
Movie - 1977, 2h 15m • as Savvas' Wife
During a hunting party on New Year's Eve 1976, five representatives of the bourgeoisie encounter with their companion the body of a partisan from the Civil War of the late forties. What they are most confused about is the fact that the corpse that lies at their feet is still bleeding…
Movie - 1982, 2h 15m • as Pethera tou Thanashi
A peaceful little man who suffers all kinds of abuse from his mother-in-law, struggles desperately to have a child. And what doesn't he do to become fertile: he swallows mandrakes and drinks infusions with strange herbs, he prays to God to give him a child, and he jumps over fires to drive away the demons. But when all this fails, the great conflict with the "cursed snake," his evil mother-in-law, ensues.
Movie - 1978, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Based on the book by Ilias Venezis "The Number 31328", the film by Nikos Koundouros unfolds through the personal tragedies of three characters, the Asia Minor Disaster and the agonizing travails of the Asia Minor Greeks who had been arrested and led to death by Kemal's troops and armed groups of Muslims. The wife of a merchant, a teacher and a seventeen-year old boy try to survive, following the column of prisoners into the depths of Asia Minor.
Movie - 1978, 2h 15m • as Margaret
Melina Mercouri plays Maya, a jet-setting Greek actress who returns to her homeland to undertake the role of Medea. Searching for inspiration and clues as to how a mother could kill the children she loves, Maya discovers Brenda (Ellen Burstyn), a bible-spouting American woman serving time in an Athens prison for that very crime.
Movie - 1973, 2h 15m • as Loukia
3 different story's that a prostitute says to her patrons whe she is asked about her story life
Movie - 2012, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Margarita works as a flight assistant. Her life is divided between travels and the care of her sick father. When he dies, she decides to make a fresh start to her life. She begins a trip to Northern Greece seeking...
Movie - 1985, 2h 15m • as Mother
After the death of her father a young woman who was a student in Germany suffers a nervous breakdown and withdraws inside herself. Her younger sisterʼs attempt to stop the family from having her locked up in a mental hospital fails and brings about her own mental decline. The film marked Stavros Tsiolis re-emergence after a 14-year absence but was also the film debut of actress Pemi Zouni.
Movie - 1985, 2h 15m • as Betty Pipili
Rena Verygou is a woman who gambles constantly at the casino. However, her husband, Dimitris, has a problem with this and does not like Rena being at the casino. He vows that she will never touch a deck of cards again. When her husband Dimitris goes on a business trip to Frankfurt, Rena and her friend Despoina find the opportunity to go to the casino in Rhodes, but they get caught up in comical situations.
Movie - 1960, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A young journalist, Alexis, witnesses a political crime and is pursued by the killers. He then meets an unhappy girl, Marie, who has nowhere to sleep, and takes her home. He offers her support and treats her tenderly, but when he realizes that they are not compatible, he abandons her. The desperate young woman ends her life.