Stefanidou family originated in
Asia Minor. From a very young age, she acted in plays for children. She learned foreign languages and the piano while attending business school in Athens, and worked to pay for her tuition at the
National Theatre Drama School without her parents knowing, as they did not want her to become an actress. She graduated from the Drama School in 1937, after which she was hired by
Marika Kotopouli. In 1952, she joined
Vassilis Logothetidis's acting company, where she stayed until his death in 1960. During her career, she acted alongside
Katerina,
Elli Lampeti,
Dimitris Horn,
Lambros Konstantaras,
Giannis Fertis,
Xenia Kalogeropoulou,
Aliki Vougiouklaki,
Stefanos Lineos,
Giannis Gkionakis,
Nikos Kourkoulos,
Antonis Antypas and many more. She played Queen
Hecuba in the play
Trojan Women, translated and directed by
Giannis Tsarouchis and performed at a makeshift theatre on Kaplanon Street and in
Delphi. In 1951, she made her cinematic debut in
The Four Steps. From there, she appeared in many movies, including adaptations of theatre plays she had performed onstage. She also worked in radio, taking part in radio serials, radio theatre and readings of novels. Her radio serials included
The tongue that embroiders and
Baroness Staff, and she read, in installments,
A hundred years of solitude by
Gabriel García Márquez,
The third wreath by
Kostas Tachtsis, and
The decadence of the hard ones by
Angelos Terzakis. Stefanidou married singer-songwriter Vassos Seitanidis (1913–1965) and they had one daughter, Leda-Irene. Leda is a yoga teacher,
Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, teacher, and
dance therapist. In 2003, Stefanidou and Leda opened the Shantom House of Culture in
Chalandri, where they hosted lessons, workshops, seminars, and performances. Stefanidou died in 2010, at the age of 97, and is buried in the
First Cemetery. ==Selected works==