WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers

Born: 20th June 1931

Died: 1st May 2021

Olympia Dukakis born to Greek immigrants in Lowell, Massachusetts, came late to the big screen spending her early years at school excelling in sports (she was the New England Fencing champion three times) and later studying Physical Therapy at Boston, which she used to treat people with Polio during the pandemic of 1952. She returned to Boston University to study performing arts, in which she got a Master of Fine Arts degree. She started on stage and had an illustrious career in all areas before turning to the screen. Although she was set to become a film star she never left the stage behind; she and her husband, Louis Zorich, co-founded The Whole Theatre Company in New Jersey where she acted, directed, produced and taught. Olympia’s real big break came when she was spotted by Norman Jewison in the Broadway production of ‘Social Security’ he offered her the part of Rose Castorini in Moonstruck and from there more film roles were offered and later TV roles.

I have to be honest I didn’t even know who Olympia Dukakis was when I first saw Look Who’s Talking (it had John Travolta and Bruce Willis what more did a teenage girl want!) but watching it again I realise what a lovely character Rosie is. The script suits her beautifully just the right amount of humour played very subtly. From the 80s we go back in time to Ms Dukakis’ second film and wow this woman is timeless! The film Mr Holland’s Opus, in which she plays Principal Jacobs, spans 30 years alright she is not in it for all thirty years but it starts in 1965 and her character retires 10 years into the film and both looks suit her. Although her time in this film is short she plays the character beautifully from the forthright Principal who makes her demands on Holland on his first day to the soft peck on the cheek she gives him when she tells him she’s retiring and says “of all the teachers at John F. Kennedy you were my favourite”. The contrast between Jacobs and Vice Principal Wolters is wonderful to watch too; although they both want Holland to do what is best for the school, Wolters is very spiky and abrupt but she is gentler with her words. Next we have a something that I feel is rare in cinema a good female centric film. Steel Magnolias, is a great film that not only showcases the talents of Ms Dukakis but also the other five actresses that star alongside her. Clairee Belcher is charismatic, funny and warm and the relationship between all the women, but especially Clairee and Ouiser, is so wonderful that you would easily believe that the actresses have known each other for years. To my surprise her fourth film, Moonstruck, was Olympia’s first major film role, as well as her only Oscar winning performance, and her portrayal of Rose Castorini is deserving of it. As the long suffering wife of philandering husband, Cosmo, she has pathos and humour and you live every emotion with her. She’s probably one of the best things about this film (apart from maybe Feodor Chaliapin Jr. portrayal of ‘Old Man’). And finally we have Working Girl, a 1980s rom-com, but there is very little to say about Olympia’s character of Personnel Director in Working Girl as she has very little screen time; one small scene with Melanie Griffith as she looks for a new appointment. A waste of a good actress in my opinion. Unfortunately as with Working Girl, I Love Trouble is another waste of this good actress maybe a couple of scenes at the start of the film then there is nothing else to watch for her – don’t get me wrong this is a fairly good action/romance (even if the romance side is extremely predictable) but why have such a big name in such a small part?  But to me, looking at her top five (or six) films, it’s like she won the Oscar then was relegated to small parts just to keep her around so that casting executives remembered her when a suitable role came up, which in a way is brilliant as she would never have made Steel Magnolias, but she seems wasted in some of those roles. Maybe she was doing more acting work or raising children whilst doing these small parts but I think she would never have turned down these roles as she just seemed to love acting.

Steel Magnolias will probably be the main film I will remember Olympia Dukakis for but it isn’t just for her performance – it’s the film as a whole it makes me laugh and cry nearly every time I watch it. As I have already said, the film has a beautiful script that has wonderful strong female roles. The women control the whole narrative which is rare and should be applauded and replicated more often.

As you already know Olympia Dukakis was a star of stage and screen (both big and small) as well as an Oscar winner. What you may not know was that she won at least two awards for her stage roles as well as several other awards for her screen acting and raised three children whilst doing so. She was an advocate of Goddess Worship (in short: a revivalistic Neopagan religious movement WIKIPEDIA) and an active supporter of women’s rights and the rights of the LGBT community. She toured the lecture circuit and worked tirelessly until she died. Ms Dukakis died after at the age of 89 after a period of ill health.