Sperantza Vrana

February 6, 1926 — Messolonghi, Greece

Sperantza Vrana (Greek: Σπεράντζα Βρανά; 6 February 1928 – 29 September 2009) was a Greek actress and writer. She was born as Elpida Homatianou (Ελπίδα Χωματιανού) in Messolongi on 6 February, either in 1926 or 1932. She wrote several books, with the most famous of them being her autobiography Tolmo (Τολμώ, I Dare). Her first contact with cinema was with the comedy of Finos Film “Ela sto thio” in 1950, alongside Nikos Stavridis. Subsequently, she participated in about 30 films, with her notable appearance in the film “The Beauty of Athens” (1954), where she sang and danced with brio, femininity and temperament, the legendary song “Avto to Mambo to Brasiliero”. Her performance in the film “O Skliros Andras” (1961) has also remained a classic. Her last appearance in cinema was in 1999, in the comedy of Reppa – Papathanasiou, “Safe Sex”. In the early 80s, she revealed her writing talent, causing a sensation, because it was a dobra, without modesty and hypocritical acting style. She began with her autobiography, the book "I Dare" (1981), with simple, true and torrential language. Other books followed, such as "The Buns, the Theater and Me" (1982), "Honest Bordello" (1983), "My Capsule Review" (1985), "How I Got Fat on a Diet" (1996), "Who Will Tell Me the Truth" (1997), "Questions" (1999), "The Orgasm of Bravo" (2001), "The Charm of a Whore" (2003), "Trumpa" (2003), "Pepperata Authentika" (2005), "'Ela Kale Tora" (2005) and "O Epivitoras" (2007). Sperantza Vrana died of a heart attack on 29 September 2009, aged 81.