Irene Papas, Actress From ‘The Message’, ‘Lion of the Desert,’ Dies At 93

Irene Papas, a celebrated actress of Greek descent who starred in critically acclaimed movies like “The Message,” “Lion of the Desert,” and “Zorba the Greek,” passed away on Wednesday at the age of 93.

Papas had been frail for some time and had been battling Alzheimer’s for the past five years.

Irene Papas was among the cast of the seminal movie, The Message, directed by Moustapha Akkad. Released in 1976, the movie is considered a quality landmark production highlighting the history of Islam.

Papas played the role of Hind bint Utba, who long opposed the message of Islam but eventually became Muslim, along with his husband Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraish of Makkah.

In 1980, she starred in Akkad’s next directorial venture, the Lion of the Desert, the epic historical war film based on the life of Libyan leader Omar Mukhtar, who led the native resistance in Cyrenaica (currently Eastern Libya) under the Senussids, against the Italian colonization of Libya.