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 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 ...

prone to malapropisms. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University in Melbourne, majoring in performing arts and sub-majoring in journalism. Coustas won the Logie Award for Most Popular Comedy Personality in 1993.

Theatre

Coustas' initial claim to fame was in the comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside

Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas Giannopoulos (born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom '' Acropolis ...

George Kapiniaris George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom ''Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song. Professional background Theatre ...

and

Simon Palomares Simon Palomares is a German-born Australian comedian and actor of Spanish descent. He is best known for his character as cafe manager Ricardo "Ricky" Martinez in ''Acropolis Now''. Biography Simon Palomares was born in Dusseldorf, Germany. Hi ...

. In 2019, Coustas joined the Shooshi Mango boys and Giannopoulos on stage in a show named ''Fifty Shades of Ethnic''.

Television career

Coustas appeared on the popular television sitcom ''

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 Nic ...

'', from 1989 until 1992, in the role of Effie Stephanidis. Since then she has appeared as Effie in other television shows and commercials. Effie also appeared in the interview show ''

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 ...

'' in 2001 and hosted her own short-lived talk show called ''

Greeks on the Roof ''Greeks on the Roof'' was a short-lived Australian television talk show and variety show that ran for 11 episodes on the Seven Network from 1 April to 1 July 2003. It was hosted by the actress/comedian Mary Coustas in character as Effie, a ...

'' in 2003. Coustas played straight dramatic roles in two police series: '' Skirts'' in 1990 and '' Wildside'' in 1998. Other roles include ''

Grass Roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

'', ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...

'' and ''

Good Guys Bad Guys ''Good Guys, Bad Guys'' was an Australian comedy/drama TV series that screened on the Nine Network between 1997 and 1998, with a telemovie and twenty-six episodes produced. The crime-themed show was set in Melbourne. The program and its lead cha ...

''. Her voice-over work includes ''

The Magic Pudding ''The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff'' is a 1918 Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a classic of Australian childr ...

'', '' Hercules Returns'' and ''

Always Greener ''Always Greener'' was an Australian television drama/ comedy series that aired on the Seven Network which followed the fortunes of two families, one from the city and the other from the country, when they decide to switch homes and start a new ...

''. She also appeared as a guest on comedy game show ''

Talkin' 'bout Your Generation ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef. History Original run The first series ran on Network Ten for 18 episode ...

'' in 2012, and had a guest role in the drama ''

Rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

''.

Books and music

In 1992 Effie released a novelty single: 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 (Australia) ...

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 ...

. The recording was 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 musical ...

'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 Blac ...

''. Coustas's book ''Effie's Guide to Being Up Yourself'' was published in 2003. In her 2013 memoir ''All I know: a memoir of love, loss and life'', Coustas looked back over her career, and reflected on the lives and deaths of her father, grandmother and daughter. She co-starred in two comedic, mock music video entries for Eurovision, "Electronik Supersonik" (2004) and "I Am the Anti-Pope" (2006) starring Australian Comedian Santo Cilauro as a fictional Molvanian character Zladko Vladcik. Cilauro, along with

Rob Sitch Robert Ian Sitch (born 17 March 1962) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian. Early life Sitch was born in 1962, the son of Melbourne bus proprietor Charles (Charlie) Sitch. Sitch attended St Kevin's College and ...

and

Tom Gleisner Thomas Edmund Gleisner (born 24 October 1962) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer, director, writer, occasional actor and author. Gleisner currently hosts Network 10's '' Have You Been Paying Attention?''. Early life an ...

, created the popular

Internet phenomenon An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

character Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik, a Molvanian pop idol style musician. Zlad was performed by Cilauro to accompany the Jetlag Travel Guide to

Molvanîa ''Molvanîa'' (subtitled ''A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry'') is a book parodying travel guidebooks. The guide describes the fictional country Molvanîa, a post-Soviet state, a nation described as "the birthplace of the whooping cough" and ...

. Cilauro was, with Sitch and Gleisner, co-author of the Jetlag Travel Guides to Molvanîa,

Phaic Tăn ''Phaic Tăn'' (subtitled ''Sunstroke on a Shoestring'') is a 2004 parody travel guidebook examining imaginary country Phaic Tăn. The book was written by Australians Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro, and Rob Sitch. Along with the other Jetlag Travel ...

and

San Sombrèro ''San Sombrèro'' (subtitled ''A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups'') is a parody travel guide book examining the eponymous fictional country, described as the birthplace of sunglasses, tinted sunglasses and sequins. This country is set in C ...

Personal life

Coustas was born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. Coustas married George Betsis in 2005. In August 2013, Coustas and her husband announced in an interview with ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...

'' that she was 22 weeks pregnant and expecting their second child in early December 2013. Their daughter Jamie was born on 28 November 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coustas, Mary 1964 births Actresses from Melbourne Australian film actresses Australian people of Greek descent Australian television actresses Australian women comedians Living people Logie Award winners People from Collingwood, Victoria Comedians from Melbourne Deakin University alumni