Eleni Tzoka

Eleni Tzoka (née Milopoulou; 27 April 1956, Bielawa) is a Polish female singer of Greek descent.

Tzoka was born to a Greek family which emigrated to Poland in the 1950s. At an early age, she was familiarized with music by her parents and numerous siblings (she was the ninth child) who would constantly play or sing. She first sang in public when she attended elementary school. At that time she belonged to a children's group Niezapominajki ("Forget-me-nots"). Several years later she became a vocalist in Ballada, a group that was formed in her secondary school.

Tzoka started her professional career in 1975 when she joined Prometheus, a newly founded music band that was mainly active in Sopot. On July 20 of the same year, she debuted at a concert in nearby Gdańsk.

Eleni, as she is commonly referred to in Poland, released her first solo album, Ty jak niebo, ja – jak obłok, in 1980 (although she had recorded an LP album with Prometheus earlier) titled Po słonecznej stronie życia ("On the sunny side of life'", 1977). After the release of her solo album, she became popular. She began giving concerts all over Poland as well as abroad. Among many other countries, she visited Australia; France; Sweden; Canada; and the United States, where she sang for the Polish diaspora.

Tzoka participated in the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole four times: in 1984, 1990, 1991 and 1993. She is married to Fotis Tzokas, the brother of Kostas Tzokas, who was the founder of Prometheus. Fotis is currently her personal manager and composes some of her songs.

In 1994, Tzoka's 17-year-old daughter, Afrodyta, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. It was reported that she openly forgave the killer of her only child. When she was informed about her daughter's death, she immediately phoned the mother of Afrodyta's boyfriend and told her without anger that they had "lost their children". She was honoured for that in 1999 with the Saint Rita of Cascia prize, which is awarded yearly to women of different religious beliefs who have overcome a tragic event in their lives.

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