Irlandos: New page: '''Aliki Diplarakou''', in Greek: ''Αλίκη Διπλαράκου'', (August 28, 1912 - October 30, 2002) was the first Greek contestant to ...

2008-09-21T08:22:51Z

New page: '''Aliki Diplarakou''', in Greek: ''Αλίκη Διπλαράκου'', (August 28, 1912 - October 30, 2002) was the first Greek contestant to ...

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'''Aliki Diplarakou''', in [[Greek language|Greek]]: ''Αλίκη Διπλαράκου'', ([[August 28]], [[1912]] - [[October 30]], [[2002]]) was the first [[Greeks|Greek]] contestant to win the Miss Europe title after winning the "Miss Hellas" (Μις Ελλάς) title at the [[Miss Star Hellas]] Pageant.

==Family==
She was the daughter of Georgios Diplarakos and Elena Nikolessi. Although the Diplarakos family lived in [[Athens]], they originally were [[Mani]]ots (''Μανιάτες'', from "Krini", ''Κρήνη'') in the [[Peloponnese]] area. Her original family name was "Vavouli" (''Βαβούλη'') but the family changed it to her paternal grandmother's maiden name of Diplarakos.

Aliki was married twice; the first time was on [[October 31]], [[1932]] to Paul-Louis Weiller, a wealthy French director of the Gnome et Rhône family. They had one child, Paul-Annick Weiller who married Princess Olimpia Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi. They became parents of Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.

Her second marriage took place on [[December 15]], [[1945]] to Sir John (Jack) Wriothesley Russell, who was descended from John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, giving her the title Lady Russell. They had two children, Georgiana Alexandra Russell and Alexander Charles Thomas Wriothesley Russell.

==Career==
In [[1929]], Aliki entered the "Miss Hellas" pageant as Miss [[Athens]]. Her biggest competitor was Miss [[Thessaloniki]] Roxani Stergiou (''Ρωξάνη Στεργίου''), who came in second to Aliki. Aliki won the title and was given the chance to represent her country at the Miss Europe event in Paris, where she was crowned Miss Europe on [[February 6]], [[1930]].

That same year the 18-year-old brunette beauty was once more given the chance to represent her country and Europe in the Miss Universe Contest. The event was held on [[October 13]], [[1930]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Aliki did very well, coming away as runner-up.

Aliki can be seen as somewhat of a pioneer in the beauty contest world. In an era when it was believed that pageant winners with intelligence did not exist, she proved them wrong. She toured the United States giving lectures on ancient and modern [[Greeks|Greek]] culture. Aside from her native [[Greek language]], she also spoke fluent English, French and Italian. She made headlines in the [[1930s]] when she dressed up in men's clothes and smuggled herself into the monks' sanctuary on [[Mount Athos]] which had stood "inviolated" since the time of the [[Byzantine Empire]], save for harbouring female refugees twice in the past.

When asked by reporters on how she became Miss Europe, she was quoted in ''Time'' magazine as saying:

:"My mother, some friends and I were at tea one day last year at the British Embassy in [[Athens]] when someone for fun suggested we go look at the beauty contest being held in an Athens theatre. We went and sat in a box. The judges... suddenly called out my name. I thought they were fooling... When I tried to refuse, the [[Alexandros Zaimis|President of Greece]] said I must accept as a patriotic duty. Three days later I found myself in Paris: I won the European contest, and of course had then to go through with it and go to Rio."

Aliki also tried her skills in theater, her first appearance being in ''[[Prometheus]]''.

On [[July 13]], [[1953]], Aliki was a featured item in a ''Time'''s article, "The Climax of Sin"[http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,806694,00.html], which discussed the transformation of women's role throughout history. Aliki was mentioned in regard to her escapades of dressing up as a man and sneaking into [[Mount Athos]] where no women were allowed.

Diplarakou died on [[October 30]], [[2002]].

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:1912 births|Diplarakou, Aliki]]
[[Category:2002 deaths|Diplarakou, Aliki]]
[[Category:Miss Star Hellas|Diplarakou, Aliki]]

Aliki Diplarakou - Revision history

Irlandos: New page: '''Aliki Diplarakou''', in Greek: ''Αλίκη Διπλαράκου'', (August 28, 1912 - October 30, 2002) was the first Greek contestant to ...