Efthimia Francesca Stephanidis, better known as just "Effie", is an outrageous comedic character played by Australian actress

Mary Coustas Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character " Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian pr ...

. Coustas depicts a stereotypical second-generation

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

History

Origins

The character originated in the popular

Seven network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

comedy program ''

Acropolis Now ''Acropolis Now'' was an Australian television sitcom set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick ...

'', which ran from 1989 to 1992. Since then, the character has appeared in ''

Effie, Just Quietly {{Italic title ''Effie: Just Quietly'' was a satirical television series that screened on Australia's Special Broadcasting Service in 2001. It featured the iconoclastic Effie, played by Mary Coustas. Effie is a suburban Greek Australian hair go ...

'' (2001), and hosting the short-lived 2003 talk show '' Greeks On The Roof'' (based on the British series ''

The Kumars at No. 42 ''The Kumars at No. 42'' is a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and 2003, and won a Peabody Award in 2004. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes. It was reportedly a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II. Plot The ...

'') in character with other actors playing her family. She has also appeared in a number of television commercials (most recently for AAPT). Effie's catchphrases include "How embarrassment!" (see

malapropism A malapropism (also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to ...

) in response to any potentially embarrassing situation. She greets people with "Hello, good thanks" before they have even asked her how she is feeling.

1992: Recording

In 1992, "Effie" released a

novelty single A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of Comedy music, humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on ...

: a duet with another fictional character,

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

Norman Gunston Norman Gunston was a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He w ...

, recording their version of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

's "

Amigos Para Siempre "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)", also called "Amics per sempre" in Catalan, is a official theme song of the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The lyrics, written by Don Black, ...

", the official song of the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

(originally performed by

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 19 ...

and

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

). The single reached the Top 20 chart in Australia. Coustas wrote a book based on the character: ''Effie’s Guide to Being Up Yourself'' (), published in September 2003 by Mark McLeod Books.

2007 & 2009

Effie returned to television with a new 90 minute variety series on

Channel Five Channel 5 may refer to: Americas * Canal 5 (Mexico), a Mexican television network owned by Televisa ** XHGC-TDT, a television station in Mexico City, flagship of the Canal 5 network * Canal 5 Noticias, a news channel in Buenos Aires, Argentina * ...

which premiered on 14 September and ran until December. The series average ratings was 1.4 million. The success was quickly taken into account and a second series started on 12 June 2009. The series continued to December. Series two ratings average was 1.3 million. Effie announced in October that she will not continue with the show after that current series. This was the last show produced. But on 7 October she announced she would air another special on NYE 2009 called Effie's NYE Party.

2021

Effie returned to the stage with ''Hello Good Thanks - Better Out Than In'' comedy show.

Discography

Singles

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the

music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , rowspan="2",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, , "Amigos Para Siempre"/"Venereal Girl (Tribute to Madonna)" (with Norman Gunston) , ,

ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

, , , , , -

References

External links

Official Effie websiteor is this the Official Effie website?Effie hosts "Greek Dancing With The Stars" at the 2007 Paniyiri Festival, Brisbane, AustraliaEffie and Norman Gunston sing ''Amigos Para Siempre'' on ''Hey, Hey, It's Saturday''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephanidis, Effie Australian comedy Australian people of Greek descent Comedy television characters Television characters introduced in 1989 Female characters in television