Chantal Contouri (Greek:Σαντάλ Κοντούρη; born 8 April 1950), sometimes credited as Chantal Cantouri, is aGreek Australian television and film actress. She has acted in many films and TV series as well as on stage, with one of her best known roles being in the 1970s soap operaNumber 96 as nurse Tracy Wilson (aka "the pantyhose strangler").

Chantal Contouri was born on 8 April 1950 in the village ofAgios Georgios,Vion, in Greece, the first of five children to Fotini and Konstantinos.^[1] The family emigrated to Australia aboard the Italian shipCastel Felice in 1954, and settled inAdelaide,South Australia.^[1]

Contouri attendedAdelaide High School.^[1]

Contouri started her career as ago-go dancer at a nightclub inGawler Place inAdelaide city centre; however, she wanted to act.^[1]

She left Adelaide after being verbally abused by a Greek woman on the street, and moved toMelbourne at the age of 16, where she appeared as a dancer on the pop music showKommotion.^[1] After that, she moved toLondon, and became good friends withOlivia Newton-John.^[1]

Contouri had leading roles inBarry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) and the sex comedy filmAlvin Purple Rides Again (1974), and later had a guest role in theAlvin Purple television series produced in 1976. She also had starring roles in horror-suspense filmsThirst (1979) andSnapshot (akaThe Day After Halloween) (1979).^[1] She also appeared as ‘Rosa’ in the Australian movie ‘Is There Anybody There’ in late 1975.

She featured inThe Sullivans (1976-1983) as Melina Tsangarakis,^[1] who married Norm Baker before her death by firing squad. Contouri appeared in US daytime soap operaGeneral Hospital in 1988 and played a guest role in the Australian soapE Street in 1993.^[2]She featured in Timothy Spanos' seriesCelebrity House Cleaner playing an alcoholic acting agent and her most recent role was in a remake ofStormboy in 2019.^{[citation needed]}

Contouri remains best known however as Nurse Tracey Wilson in the TV seriesNumber 96 (1974-75).^[3] Contouri recorded an audio commentary for a 2008 DVD boxed set release of 32Number 96 episodes, entitledThe Pantyhose Strangler.^{[citation needed]}

She continued working inSydney, before moving toLos Angeles attending Olivia Newton-John's marriage toMatt Lattanzi, and there found work on the daytime soap operaGeneral Hospital.^[1]

After moving into semi-retirement in Adelaide in 1998, she took acting roles inHotel Mumbai (directed by Adelaide-born Greek AustralianAnthony Maras) andStorm Boy, the 2019 remake withGeoffrey Rush. She also starred in the short filmUnfinished Thoughts.^[1]

1n 1979 Contouri won aLogie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Melina Tsangarakis inThe Sullivans,^[1] becoming the first Greek Australian actress to win a Logie.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011 she won Best Actress in theSouth Australian Screen Awards for her performance in the short filmUnfinished Thoughts (which was nominated for eight SASAs).^[4][1]

Contouri had an early marriage arranged by her parents, which broke down and she fled to her favourite uncle's house.^[1]

She spent some years in Greece in her 40s, and after a few more acting roles, semi-retired from acting in Adelaide in 1998. With her parents in failing health, she took over running their restaurant inHindley Street, Barbecue Inn.^[1] In 2007 Contouri discussed her timeNumber 96 in an episode ofWhere Are They Now?, and talked about running the family's restaurant in Adelaide.^[5] The restaurant closed in 2014.^[1]

In 2016 Contouri was living inTorrensville, South Australia.^[6]

Contouri has had many stage roles, including:^[7]

• Chantal Contouri atIMDb
• Interview with George Negus-2003
• DVD release:Number 96: The Pantyhose Strangler (2008)

• 1950 births
• 20th-century Australian actresses
• Living people
• Australian television actresses
• Greek emigrants to Australia
• Logie Award winners
• 21st-century Australian actresses
• People educated at Adelaide High School
• Actresses from Adelaide

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use Australian English from February 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Use dmy dates from January 2021
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing Greek-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2024