Mary Linda
Maria Dimitropoulou (Greek: Μαρία Δημητροπούλου; 9 November 1935 – 22 July 2026), known by the stage name Mary Linda (Greek: Μαίρη Λίντα), was a Greek singer of folk-pop music.
Life and career
Maria Dimitropoulou (sometimes written Dimitrakopoulou) was born in Pyrgos, Greece on 9 November 1935.[1][2][3] Her family later settled in Athens.[2][4] As a child, she began singing and dancing professionally at cabaret shows, adopting the stage name Mary Linda.[1][2][4] For a time, she gained the nickname "the Greek Shirley Temple."[5]
Her first professional recording was a 1953 rendition of the Kostas Kapnisis song "Bitter Glass."[2][4] She became known for her work in the laïko and éntekhno folk-pop genres.[2][6]
Linda met fellow musician Manolis Chiotis, and the couple married in 1959.[1][2] They collaborated extensively, performing together frequently until their divorce in 1966.[1] Their songs together included "Perasmenes Mou Agapes," "Iliovasilemata," "Esy Eisai i Aitia pou Ypofero," and "To Teleftaio Potiraki."[2][4] Alongside Chiotis, Linda also appeared in dozens of Greek films, including O Atsidas, O Filos Mou o Lefterakis, and I Villa ton Orgion.[2] During a long touring stint in North America, the couple performed together for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson at the White House in 1964.[1][2]
In the years that followed her separation from Chiotis, Linda continued to perform. She also remarried, to Alexandros Theocharis, with whom she had one daughter, Evangelia.[2][4] However, the relationship became abusive, and she left him, later citing her singing ability and the financial independence it brought her as a strength that allowed her to break free.[4]
In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Linda collaborated with such female artists as Haris Alexiou and Glykeria.[1] She retired after a final string of nightclub performances in 2011 and 2012 alongside Anna Vissi.[2] Over the course of her career, she produced some 1,200 recordings.[4]
Linda died in Athens on 22 July 2026, at the age of 90.[1][2][4] On her death, she was described as "iconic"[2] and "one of the most celebrated voices in Greek popular music for decades."[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Veteran Greek singer Mary Linda dies at 90". Kathimerini. 2026-07-22. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Greek music legend Mary Linda dies aged 91". Neos Kosmos. 2026-07-23. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
- ↑ Kouremenos, Achilleas (2026-07-22). "Legendary Greek Singer Mary Linda Passes Away, Aged 91". The National Herald. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Mary Linda, Voice Of Postwar Greek Music, Dies". Cosmos Philly. 2026-07-23. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
- ↑ "Songs of 4 Countries To Be Heard Saturday". The Hartford Courant. 1965-09-21.
- ↑ Horn, David (2017-10-05). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11: Genres: Europe. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-5013-2610-3.