Aikaterini (Konstantopoulou) Paxinou (1900 - 1973)

Born 17 Dec 1900 in Piraeus, Greece

Died 22 Feb 1973 at age 72 in Athens, Attica, Greece

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scott Fulkerson [send private message]

Biography

Katina (Konstantopoulou) Paxinou is Notable.

Aikaterini Konstantopoulou was a Greek actress, famous for her role in For Whom the Bell Tolls, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[1]

Aikaterini (Katina) Konstantopoulou was born on 17 Dec 1900 in Greece.^[2] She was the daughter of Vassilis Konstantopoulou (known as Basil) and Eleni Malandrinou.^[1]

Katina's first husband was Yiannis Paxinos. They had two daughters, one of whom died very young.^[1]

Katina trained as an opera singer at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and later in Berlin and Vienna.^[1]

In 1932, Katina was among the actors who inaugurated the National Theatre of Greece, where she worked until 1940. That year, having previously divorced her first husband, she married fellow actor Alexis Minotis, although she continued to keep the last name Paxinou.^[1]

Katina distinguished herself on stage starring in major plays, which were also performed in London, Frankfurt and Berlin. When World War II began, Katina was performing in London. Unable to return to Greece, she emigrated in May 1941 to the United States. She was selected to play the role of Pilar in the film For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943), for which she won Academy Award and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actress. In all, Katina stared in just eleven films over the course of her career. Instead, upon returning to her native Greece, she resumed her stage career, forming the Royal Theatre of Athens with her husband Alexis.^[1]

Katina Paxinou died of cancer on 22 Feb 1973 in Athens, Greece. She was 72 years old. She was buried at Athens First Cemetery, Athens, Greece.^[2]

Research Notes

In 1952, Katina Paxinou, age 52 (born 1900), married, arrived at New York, United States.^[3]

In 1957, Katina Minotis, listed as "also known as Katina Paxinou", age 56, born about 1901 in Greece, arrived at New York City on the ship Olympia.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Wikipedia (English): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katina_Paxinou
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Find a Grave (has image), Find A Grave: Memorial #8293098 (accessed 4 September 2023), Memorial page for Katina Paxinou (17 Dec 1900-22 Feb 1973), citing Athens First Cemetery, Athens, Regional unit of Athens, Attica, Greece; Maintained by Find a Grave.
3. ↑ "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HQN-N8B : 2 October 2015), Katina Paxinou, 1952; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. ↑ "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2H6S-KJV : 3 October 2015), Katina Minotis Or Paxinou, 1957; citing Immigration, New York City, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

See also:

• Biography of Katina Paxinou on the Greek biographical website Sansimera

• 1990 Obituary for husband Alexis Minotis: "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7L-JRXD : 15 September 2016), Katina Paxinou in entry for Alexis Minotis, Minnesota, United States, 12 Nov 1990; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing St. Paul Pioneer Press, born-digital text.