Eleni Menegaki (Greek: Ελένη Μενεγάκη; born October 29, 1969), is a Greek TV presenter. In 2010, Forbes ranked Menegaki as the second-most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and top-ranked female.[1]

Eleni Menegaki
Born (1969-10-29) October 29, 1969 (age 55)
OccupationTV Hostess
Years active1991-present
Spouses
Stavros Garderis
(m. 1989; div. 1990)
Giannis Latsios
(m. 2001; div. 2010)
Makis Pantzopoulos
(m. 2015)
ChildrenAggelos Latsios
Laura Latsiou
Valeria Latsiou
Marina Pantzopoulou
RelativesKiki Menegaki (mother)
Thodoris Misokalos brother)

Career

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Television

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MEGA Channel (1991–1994)

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Eleni Menegaki started her career as a model in 1988. She starred in photoshoots, t.v adverts and video clips.[2][3][4] In 1991 she participated in the MEGA Channel morning show "Proino Cocktail." A year later, she and Giorgos Polichroniou hosted the highly successful game show "MEGA Banca."

ANT1 (1992–2005)

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In 1994, she started in the successful ANT1 comedy TV show "Pater Imon" portraying a radio producer. The next year, she began hosting the ANT1 morning show Proinos Kafes . She continued hosting the show for 10 years with great success and soon the media named her "Queen of the morning zone."

ALPHA TV (2005–2020)

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In 2005, she left ANT1 and signed to Alpha TV . She became the hostess of the morning show "Kafes me tin Eleni." Despite low ratings in the first season, it soon became a great success, especially in the commercial target group 15–44 years of age. In its last season (2010-2011), "Kafes me tin Eleni" suffered the lowest ratings ever.

In 2011, Menegaki's show changed its time starting at 13:00 and aired under the new title "Eleni." TV ratings have fluctuated. In May 2020, she announced that this will be her last season doing the show as she decided to take a break.[5]

MEGA Channel (2021– 2024)

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In April 2021, Mega Channel announced that Menegaki would be on their channel presenting a new show on week days at 13:00 which is called “Εleni”.[6] Ιn July 2024 she decided to end her career in daytime television.[7]

Advertising - Campaigns - Collaborations

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She made her first commercial in 1990 for the coffee company Melita. The same year, she also played in a commercial for the "Ultrex" shampoo company. In 1992, she starred in two companies' commercials. "Knorr" for Risonatto and the company "To Lampero" for the promotion of soybean oil. In 1993, she appeared in an advertisement for the "Famozo" window cleaner, while in 1998, she promoted the Prinos slimming center. In 2003-2004 she became the main face of the shampoo company "Lux".

In the 2010–2011 season she was the main person of the skin care company "Olay" for the promotion of the new face cream while in the 2014–2015 season she participated in the campaign of the "Alma Zois" organization for the prevention of breast cancer. From 2015 until 2019, she collaborated with the hair care company "L'Oréal Paris Greece" and is the main person for hair dyes. Also, since 2018 she has been collaborating with the company "Fage" for the yogurt "Ageladitsa".

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1991-1992 Cocktail Herself (co-host) Daily talk show (season 3)
1992 Ah Eleni minister's secretary 1 episode
Ta Bakouria Kris Catarahias Episodes: "To proxenio sto klouvi me tis treles" & Diazygio ala Katarahia"
1992-1995 Mega Banca / Mega Banca Show Herself (co-host) Daily game show on Mega Channel
1993 Uncredible but Greek gang girl / girl in present 3 episodes
1994-1996 Our Father Eleni Alexaki Lead role; 54 episodes
1995-2005 Morning Coffee Herself (host) Morning talk show on ANT1
1996-2005 National Beauty Pageant Herself (host) TV special
1997 Crush Herself 1 episode
1998 Nanny for everything Herself 1 episode
1999 2000 Wishes Herself (host) TV special
2000 Pop Corn Music Awards Herself (host) TV special
2005-2011 Coffee with Eleni Herself (host) Morning talk show on Alpha TV; also executive producer
2006-2007 Personality Awards by Ethnos Herself (host) TV special
2011-2020 Eleni Herself (host) Daytime talk show on Alpha TV; also executive producer
2014 From a different story Herself Voice role, 1 episode
2017 Don't start moaning Herself 1 episode
2021-2024 Eleni Herself (host) Daytime talk show on Mega Channel; also executive producer

Music Videos

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Year Title Artist Notes
1988 "Don't betray me! Pascalis
1990 "You provoke me" Michalis Rakintzis
1991 "Unintentionally" Antypas
1991 "I don't change you" Antypas
1991 "It was my honor" Antypas
1991 "Only one sign from you" Antypas
1998 "Crying" Lambis Livieratos
1999 "Last night in my dream" Stamatis Gonidis

TV commercials

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Year Title Notes
1986 Evga Ice-creams
1990 Melita
Ultrex
1992 Risonatto Knorr
Το Λαμπερό
1996 Famozo
1998 Πρίνου Αδυνάτισμα
2003-2004 Lux
2010-2011 Olay
2014-2015 Άλμα Ζωής
2015-2024 L'Oreal Paris Greece
2018-today Fage Yogurt
2018-2019 Άλμα Ζωής

Personal life

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Menegaki has been married three times and has four children from her second and third marriages.

At the age of 20, Menegaki married Greek shop owner Stavros Garderis but they divorced one year later.

In 2001, Menegaki married the former ANT1's program manager Giannis Latsios. On November 15, 2002, she gave birth to their first child, a son, Aggelos-Ioannis. On February 9, 2005, she gave birth to their second child, a daughter, Laura, and three years later, on January 28, 2008, their third child, second daughter, Valeria was born. In January 2010, Menegaki announced their divorce.

In 2010, Menegaki began dating Greek entrepreneur Makis Pantzopoulos. On March 29, 2015, she gave birth to their daughter, Marina and they were married the same year.

Public image and impact

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With the success of her shows, Menegaki became the most successful celebrity in Greece. She is followed by paparazzi and makes headlines everywhere. Her divorce from Giannis Latsios became a controversial and highly discussed topic.

References

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  1. ^ "The Greek List". Forbes (in Greek). 4 December 2010. p. 37.
  2. ^ Δημοκίδης, Άρης (26 April 2012). "Στο περιοδικό του Χατζιδάκι ήταν το πρώτο εξώφυλλο της Μενεγάκη". LiFO. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  3. ^ Μaleviziotis, Maleviziotis (29 October 2019). "Eλέvη Μενεγακη: Πρωταγωνίστρια σε βίντεο κλιπ- Δείτε σε ποια (βίντεο)". Maleviziotis. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  4. ^ must, must (5 July 2020). "Στο απόλυτο #tb η Mενεγάκη στα 90s και οι διαφημίσεις που συμμετείχε". must. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  5. ^ ""Βόμβα" από την Ελένη Μενεγάκη: Ανακοίνωσε συγκινημένη την αποχώρησή της από τον Alpha και την TV". Iefimerida. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ^ "To MEGA καλωσορίζει την Ελένη Μενεγάκη". MEGA. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. ^ Aντωνάτος, Κωνσταντίνος (5 July 2024). "H Ελένη Μενεγακη ολοκληρώνει την καριέρα της στη καθημερινή τηλεόραση μετά από 30 χρόνος". MissBloom. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.