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Acclaimed actress tells Elon students to “insist on how you’re going to be defined”

October 18, 2007

The tallest hurdle in her storied career was overcoming her own name. For Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, a Greek heritage limited early opportunities to audition for theater productions in the 1950s and 60s. Her lesson to current Elon students: “Take total and full responsibility for yourself. You want to work? Figure out a way to do it. … Just don't wait for people to give it to you.”