Melina Mecouri was born on October 18, 1920 in Athens, Greece. She graduated from National Theatre's Drama School in 1944. She made her acting debut in the film Stella in 1955 and achieved international acclaim for her performance in the 1960 film Never on Sunday. She has 19 film credits as an actress. Her honors include Best Actress at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Seven Days...Seven Nights. She was nominated for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two BAFTA Awards.
She also released 15 albums of music and 40 singles and EPs. She is most famous for her single recording of "Never On Sunday".
After the fall of the Greek military junta in 1974 she was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and was elected to the Greek parliament in 1977. In 1981 she became the first women to become the Minister for Culture of Greece.
Mercouri died from lung cancer on March 6, 1994 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.