Margarita Xhepa is a renowned Albanian actress, born on April 2, 1934, in the city of Lushnja, where she took her first steps towards her career.

Her talent for acting was evident from primary school, where Margarita Xhepa performed recitations of poems she had learned in school. At the age of only 16, in 1950, she stepped onto the stage while continuing her studies at the Artistic High School, specializing in Drama.

She is one of the icons of Albanian theatre and movie, leaving an impression on the Albanian public with brilliant roles since the beginning of her career in the 1960s until today. She initially became active in the State Variety Show and later as a stage artist at the National Theater.

Her career in cinema began in 1966 with the role of Zyraka in the film “Early Years” directed by Kristaq Dhamo.

She stood out for the interpretation of the role of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet”, staged in 1960 by the Russian director Bortko. Margarita’s portrayal of Ophelia at the Albanian Theatre was as angelic as it was spiritual, transitioning to roles like the elderly Lady Vrana in “Who Brought Doruntina” by Kadare.

Margarita was versatile, equally adept at playing a dignified and mysterious lady as she was at embodying a humble village woman walking barefoot through village paths, as seen in the film “Bloodstained Land”.

But Margarita Xhepa was an actress who gave a real and multidimensional face to Albanian mothers: she was Gon’s mother in the movie “Through the Pathways of Friendship”, Genci’s mother in the movie”Friends”. However, her impact was even greater as she portrayed Besim’s mother in “Warm Hands”.

In May 2004, she returned to the stage of the National Theater to shine in the drama “The Shelter of the Forgotten”, another success in her 50-year career. She has lightened up in over 150 roles in theater, including Majlinda in the film “Majlinda”, Dafina in “The Dead River”, Filja in “Mountain Nymphs”, Mother in “Facing Yourself” by Ruzhdi Pulaha, etc.

She was equally successful in roles from world literature, such as Ophelia in “Hamlet”, the second daughter in “King Lear”, the nurse in “Romeo and Juliet”, Queen Margaret in “Richard III” by Shakespeare.

In other roles from world theatre, the role of Klea stands out in “Fox and grapes” (Figueiredo), Lena in “Uncle Vanya” (Chekhov), Lady Milford in “Luise Miller” (Schiller), Mrs. Berling in “An Inspector Calls” (Priestley), Mrs. Loman in “Death of a Salesman” (A. Miller), Anna Andreyevna in “The Government Inspector” (Gogol), Marcella in “The Gardener’s Dog” (De Vega), Sheila in “The Morality of Mrs. Dulska” (Zapolska), or Dado in “Electra” by Sophocles, under the direction of Greek director Dimitri Mavriqis, at the National Theatre of Greece in Athens.

Apart from her theater roles, she has also played 32 roles in cinema, working with most Albanian directors. With Kristaq Dhamo, she starred in “The First Years” and “Traces”, then “Last Winter”, “Bloodstained Land”, “A Boy and a Girl” and “Passionate”, with Viktor Gjika, “The General Gramophone”, “The Circle of Memory” and “Years of Waiting”, “Warm Hands”, with Dhimitër Anagnosti, “The Stones of My House”, with Piro Milkani, “Spring Didn’t Come Alone”, with Saimir Kumbaro, “Concert in 1936”, “The Last Sunday” and “Beloved Enemy” by Gjergj Xhuvani.

And it seems like her roles never end. They constantly take on new dimensions in each broadcast.

In 1997, she starred in the Greek film “Goodbye” (directed by J. Koras, K. Vupuras). The film was awarded the Grand Prize at the Thessaloniki International Mediterranean Film Festival, while Margarita Xhepa received the Honor Prize. A lifetime dedicated to theatre and film has made actress Margarita Xhepa a name that success follows her wherever she goes.

Among the accolades she has received such as “People’s Artist,” “National Honor,” we also highlight her performance in the 1997 Greek film “Goodbye” (directed by J. Koras, K. Vupuras). In its 19th edition, the international theater festival held in Macedonia, Margarita Xhepa was awarded the highest prize, “Actor of Europe 2021”.

Margarita Xhepa continues to stand as a living monument, on her golden throne.

/k.s/