Aliki Diplarakou
Encyclopedia
Aliki Diplarakou, Lady Russell, was the first Greek contestant to win the Miss Europe
title after winning the "Miss Hellas" title at the Miss Star Hellas
Pageant. Her name has been spelled in various ways, from Alice Diplarakou to Aliki Diplearakos and Aliki Diplarakos.
Diplomat
André Rodocanachi, Cristina Diplarakos, who was married to Henri Claudel, a son of Paul Claudel
, .
Although the Diplarakou family lived in Athens
, they originally were Maniots
from Krini
in the Peloponnese
. The original family name was Vavouli (Βαβούλη) but it was changed to her paternal grandmother's maiden name of Diplarakou.
Aliki Diplarakou was married twice; the first time was on 31 October 1932 to aviator
, a wealthy French
director of the Gnome et Rhône
conglomerate, a son of and wife . Guests at the event included author Paul Morand
, poet Paul Valéry
, and diplomat Philippe Berthelot
. They had one child, Paul-Annick Weiller (Paris
, 28 July 1933 - Geneva
, 2 November 1998). He married in Rome
, at Santa Maria in Trastevere
, on 26 June 1965, Donna Olimpia Emmanuela Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (b. Lausanne
, Mont Choisi, 27 December 1943). They became parents of Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg
.
Her second marriage took place on 15 December 1945 to Sir John (Jack) Wriothesley Russell (23 August 1914 - 3 August 1984), an English aristocrat who was descended from John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
. The Russells had two children, Georgiana Alexandra Russell and Alexander Charles Thomas Wriothesley Russell.
. Her biggest competitor was Miss Thessaloniki
Roxani Stergiou (Ρωξάνη Στεργίου), who came in second. Diplarakou won the title and represented Greece at the Miss Europe event
in Paris, where she was crowned Miss Europe on 6 February 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 13 October 1930 in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
and Diplarakou was a runner-up.
She can be seen as 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 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 "inviolate" 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:
She also tried her skills in theater, her first appearance being in Prometheus
.
On 13 July 1953, she was a featured item in a Time article, "The Climax of Sin," which discussed the transformation of women's role throughout history. Diplarakou was mentioned in regard to her escapades of dressing up as a man and sneaking into Mount Athos
where no women were allowed.
Miss Europe
Miss Europe is a popular regional beauty pageant among female contestants from the nations of the European continent established in 1928 and re-established at the end of World War II by Roger Zeiler of the French Committee of Elegance and Claude Berr...
title after winning the "Miss Hellas" title at the Miss Star Hellas
Star Hellas
Star Hellas-Miss Hellas-Miss Young is the longest-running beauty pageant in Greece. The winner of the contest is crowned Star Hellas and goes on to represent Greece in Miss Universe, B Star Hellas goes to Miss International while Miss Hellas goes to Miss World...
Pageant. Her name has been spelled in various ways, from Alice Diplarakou to Aliki Diplearakos and Aliki Diplarakos.
Family
She was a daughter of Georgios Diplarakos and his wife, the former Elena Nicolessi or Nicolessis. She had three sisters, Nada Diplarakos who married the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
André Rodocanachi, Cristina Diplarakos, who was married to Henri Claudel, a son of Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel
Paul Claudel was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism.-Life:...
, .
Although the Diplarakou family lived in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, they originally were Maniots
Maniots
The Maniots or Maniates are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula located in the southern Peloponnese in the Greek prefecture of Laconia and prefecture of Messinia. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as Maina. The Maniots are the direct descendants of the Spartans...
from Krini
Gytheio
Gytheio , the ancient Gythium or Gytheion , is a town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit. It was the seaport of Sparta, some 40 km north...
in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
. The original family name was Vavouli (Βαβούλη) but it was changed to her paternal grandmother's maiden name of Diplarakou.
Aliki Diplarakou was married twice; the first time was on 31 October 1932 to aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, a wealthy French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
director of the Gnome et Rhône
Gnome et Rhône
Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licensees, powering the majority of aircraft in the first half of the war on...
conglomerate, a son of and wife . Guests at the event included author Paul Morand
Paul Morand
Paul Morand was a French diplomat, novelist, playwright and poet, considered an early Modernist.He was a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies...
, poet Paul Valéry
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
, and diplomat Philippe Berthelot
Philippe Berthelot
Philippe Berthelot was an important French diplomat, son of Marcellin Berthelot. He was a republican ....
. They had one child, Paul-Annick Weiller (Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 28 July 1933 - Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, 2 November 1998). He married in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, at Santa Maria in Trastevere
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere is a titular minor basilica, one of the oldest churches in Rome, and perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated...
, on 26 June 1965, Donna Olimpia Emmanuela Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (b. Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Mont Choisi, 27 December 1943). They became parents of Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg
Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg
Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg , was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on 12 June 1968.-Family:...
.
Her second marriage took place on 15 December 1945 to Sir John (Jack) Wriothesley Russell (23 August 1914 - 3 August 1984), an English aristocrat who was descended from John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, LLD, FSA , known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician and notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents...
. The Russells had two children, Georgiana Alexandra Russell and Alexander Charles Thomas Wriothesley Russell.
Career
In 1929 Diplarakou entered the "Miss Hellas" pageant as Miss AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Her biggest competitor was Miss Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
Roxani Stergiou (Ρωξάνη Στεργίου), who came in second. Diplarakou won the title and represented Greece at the Miss Europe event
Miss Europe 1930
Miss Europe 1930 was the 2nd annual Miss Europe competition. Miss Greece won and 19 girls from Europe competed in the pageant. Belgium Czechoslovakia and Miss Turkey participated for the first time and one candidacy, that of Switzerland, was withdrawn....
in Paris, where she was crowned Miss Europe on 6 February 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
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
Contest. The event was held on 13 October 1930 in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Diplarakou was a runner-up.
She can be seen as 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 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
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
which had stood "inviolate" since the time of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, save for harbouring female refugees twice in the past.
When asked by reporters on how she became Miss Europe, she was quoted in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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 President of GreeceAlexandros ZaimisAlexandros Zaimis was a former Greek Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Justice, and High Commissioner of Crete. He served as Prime Minister six times.-Early Life and Family:...
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."
She also tried her skills in theater, her first appearance being in Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
.
On 13 July 1953, she was a featured item in a Time article, "The Climax of Sin," which discussed the transformation of women's role throughout history. Diplarakou was mentioned in regard to her escapades of dressing up as a man and sneaking into Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
where no women were allowed.