Stefania Goulioti was born in Athens to a French mother and Greek father, and is fluent in both French and Greek, as well as English.

At the age of 18, she began studying geology at the University of Athens but soon found her true calling in theatre. She enrolled at the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece, graduating with distinction in 2004, before further honing her craft under Luca Ronconi at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro di Milano.

Stefania played an instrumental role in the Olympic Flame ceremonies, performing as a Priestess in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Her professional debut came in Heinrich von Kleist’s Penthesilea, directed by Peter Stein in 2002, which was performed across major Italian venues, including the ancient Theatre of Syracuse. She then portrayed Catrin in Brecht’s Mother Courage, directed by Robert Carsen at Piccolo Teatro di Milano, and took on the role of Athena in Euripides’ The Trojans, directed by Serena Sinigallia with A.T.I.R.

Notable Performances

Stefania collaborated with the celebrated director Lefteris Vogiatzis on Sophocles’ Antigone, in which she played Tiresias at the Epidaurus Festival. She later worked with Katerina Evangelatou, now president of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, on The Dead in Love by Gautier. In 2007, Peter Stein cast her in the title role of Electra by Sophocles, a performance that established her reputation in Greek theatre and earned her both the Melina Merkouri and Karolos Koun Awards.

Extensive Work with the National Theatre

Over six years, Stefania collaborated extensively with the National Theatre of Greece, playing iconic roles such as Electra in Euripides’ Orestes and Marina in Shakespeare’s Pericles, directed by Yannis Houvardas (which also featured at London’s Globe Theatre). Further roles include Trisevgeni in Trisevgeni by Kostis Palamas, directed by Lydia Koniordou, and Kassandra in Aristophanes’ Frogs, adapted by Dimitris Lignadis. Under Yannis Houvardas, she also appeared in Emilia Galotti by Lessing and The Nightmare of Happiness by G. Del Corte. Her work with Dimiter Gotjeff on Aeschylus’ Persians and with Lefteris Vogiatzis on The Prince of Homburg and Molière’s Amphitryon further enriched her repertoire.

Key Festival Collaborations

For the Athens Festival, Stefania performed in The Throne of the Atreides, based on Aeschylus’ Oresteia, in which she portrayed Kassandra, as well as in Strindberg’s Miss Julie, directed by Dimitris Lignadis, in the title role. In 2013, she collaborated with the Onassis Foundation on Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechuan, taking on the dual roles of Shen Te and Shui Ta under Katerina Evangelatou’s direction, which won the Athinorama Athenian Audience Prize. She also starred in The Viewers by Marios Pontikas and in Constellations by Nick Payne at the New World Theatre, directed by Vangelis Theodoropoulos.

Directorial and Experimental Work

In 2015, Stefania undertook the direction of Aeschylus’ Eumenides for the Athens Festival, presenting the piece as an experimental monologue, which received widespread acclaim. She revisited Eumenides in 2018, reimagining it in a dawn performance at Epidaurus’ ancient stadium, a production praised for its innovative aesthetic.

Recent Major Roles and International Projects

In 2015, Stefania played Regan in Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Tomaz Pandur, and starred in Yasmina Reza’s The God of Carnage at the Athinon Theatre, directed by Konstantinos Markoulakis, which extended for a second season in 2016-17. The summer of 2016 saw her return to Epidaurus in Oresteia, directed by Yannis Houvardas, in the roles of Electra and Athena. In 2017, she portrayed the Cyclops in Euripides’ Cyclops, directed by Pantelis Dendakis, followed by her role as Åse, the archetypal mother in Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, directed by Dimitris Lignadis.

In 2019, Stefania received critical acclaim for her performance as Ritter in Thomas Bernhard’s Ritter, Dene, Voss, directed by Maria Protopappa at Athens’ Arts Theatre. She then appeared in Aristophanes’ Birds, directed by Nikos Karathanos for the Onassis Foundation, which also toured to Santiago, Chile. Later that year, she played Kleoniki in Lysistrata at Epidaurus, directed by Odyseas Papaspiliopoulos.

Following the pandemic, Stefania returned to the stage as Nikias in Aristophanes’ Knights at Epidaurus, directed by Konstantinos Rigos. She currently stars in Phaedra by Marina Tsvetaeva, directed by Dimitris Karatzas, a collaboration she has long aspired to with this promising director.

Stefania Goulioti is part of the distinguished cast in the touring production of Euripides’ “Herakles Mainomenos” (Herakles in Madness), directed by Dimitris Karantzas.

This production will travel across over 40 venues in Greece after its premiere in Athens. Goulioti, along with other prominent actors, brings to life the existential anguish of Euripides’ tragedy.

She’s recently received rave reviews for her endurance marathon in the ‘Second Woman’ at Onassis Stevie, for unprecedented manifesto on gender roles and sensitive relationship dynamics, and a live cinema experience, “The Second Woman” is an internationally acclaimed theatrical, sociological and psychological experiment, conceived and directed by Nat Randall and Anna Breckon, two rising Australian creators, showing their work for the first time in Greece.

Also its triumphant first run, she is currently starring Robert Icke’s sensational stage thriller ‘The Doctor’.

Film and Television

In cinema, Stefania’s credits include J.A.C.E., directed by Menelaos Karamagiolis, for which she was awarded Best Actress at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Additional roles include Knitted Red Rope, Luger, and Hara by Elias Giannakakis. Her television work includes Agria Paidia, Kostas Karyotakis, and Hara Agnoeitai. She currently appears in Christoforos Papakaliatis’ Maestro, now streaming on Netflix.

Teaching and Technique Development

A committed educator, Stefania has taught acting at prestigious institutions, including the Athens Conservatory, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Theatre Department, and drama schools such as Ag. Varvara, Iasmos, Andreas Voutsinas in Thessaloniki, and Giorgos Armenis. She has directed numerous performances for graduating students, focusing on her personal technique, “Flowing Through”, developed through her extensive experience and unique approach to acting.