Betty Valassi was born in Thessaloniki to parents who were refugees from Asia Minor. Her real name is Despo, but her mother changed it to 'Betty'. She studied theatre under great teachers, such as Hourmouzios, Katina Paxinou, Terzakis and Socrates Karantinos. From 1960 to 2004 she acted in at least 14 Greek feature films by renowned directors. She became widely known and popular with the public through her starring role in the successful – and last black and white – television series Loxandra, which was broadcast by ERT in the period 1980-1981. She played the eponymous role, which according to critics was the best of her career. She was married twice and had a son, Nikolas-Haris Minissali, who studied directing abroad. Her second husband was the well-known actor Titos Vandis, whom she married in 1984 and remained together until his death in 2003. She was closely friends with Melina Mercouri, with whom she acted in theater and film. [Source: Wikipedia]