Rika Vagiani, artist name for Marika Zoula ( el, Μαρίκα Ζούλα; 1962 – 7 August 2018), was a Greek actress, journalist, politician, editor of magazines and children's book writer. She was born in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

district of

Pangrati Pangrati or Pagrati ( el, Παγκράτι) is a neighborhood in Central Athens, Greece, having an estimated population of 35,173 residents. Named after the ancient sanctuary of Hercules Pancrates ("All Powerful"), its frontage runs from Vasil ...

from journalist Odysseas Zoulas and Varvara Drakou. Her career as actress began on 1979 and graduated from

National Theatre of Greece Drama School The National Theatre of Greece Drama School (GNT Drama School) was founded in 1930, since when it has operated in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece. In its 75-year history a number of its graduates have gone on to become major actors and s ...

on 1982. Soon she started to work as editor-in-chief in the magazines ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' and ''Colt'', and the newspapers '' Apogevmatini'' and ''

Ethnos Ethnos (from el, ἔθνος, link=no, lit=nation) may refer to: *Ethnic group * ''Ethnos'' (newspaper), Greek weekly *''Ethnos'', fantasy strategy board game by CMON Limited CMON Limited, formerly known as CoolMiniOrNot is a publicly listed mini ...

'' as a daily columnist. She began presenting on TV in shows on

Mega Channel MEGA Channel, also known as MEGA TV or just MEGA, is a television network in Greece, that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It is the first and the oldest private television network in Greece. History Mega Channel (1989–2018) ...

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

, Seven X, Channel X and ERT. She co-founded the news site ''Protagon'', where she published two children's books.Journalist Rika Vayianni passes away at 56
/ref> In 1986, she began presenting on television, with featuring in shows on Mega, Star, Seven X, Channel 5 and, since 1997, with the state broadcaster ERT, which she has remained until 2012. She also contributed to the Protagon website and penned two children’s books. Her artistic name "Rika Vagiani" came from the first syllable of the name of Barbara's mother "Va-" and the name of Yiannis Diakoyiannis' father-yanis. Her husband was Nikos Stefanis, with whom she had a son, Odysseus. She died on 7 August 2018 of lung cancer.

References

1962 births 2018 deaths Greek film actresses Greek stage actresses Greek television actresses Greek television presenters Greek journalists Actresses from Athens Greek women journalists Greek editors Greek women editors Greek women television presenters {{Greece-actor-stub