His father was also a drama teacher. Papa left home at 18 to marry Greek film director Alkis Papas, despite her family’s disapproval. After four years, their marriage broke up. After the death of American actor Marlon Brando in 2004, Pappas revealed in an Italian newspaper interview that the two were romantically involved. A supporter of the Greek Communist Party, Pappas was a vocal opponent of the military dictatorship that ruled the country between 1967 and 1974 and lived outside of Greece, including Rome and New York.
