Elli Kokkinou (Greek: ???? ????????) (Born July 24, 1970) is a Greek singer who was born in Athens, Greece.[1] She is one of the most popular singers in Greece today. She has performed together with Greek music stars such as Anna Vissi, Glykeria, Paschalis Terzis, Sakis Rouvas, Tolis Voskopoulos, Natassa Theodoridou, Giorgos Tsalikis and Kalomoira. Elli grew up in a family with a love of music. From a young age, Elli showed interest in music, and was also part of the Dance group at her school.[2] Her father encouraged her to listen to music, mostly Jazz, while her mother encouraged her to listen to more modern music, such as disco. At age 5, she started ballet, while at home she sang and danced for her parents at night. She soon began courses for classic guitar at the "Attiko Conservatory", and after that, acoustic and electric guitar lessons for another three years. Elli was also very interested in sports, and for six years before she finished school, she was on a Water Ski team. On the team, she won third place in a Pan-Hellenic championship as well as many gold medals. When she finished school, Elli made her first band called "Anonimi" (Anonymous). At the same time, she completed examinations and was accepted to the school "Vakalo" where she studied graphic, free and architectural drawing and history of art.