Mary Helena Zachos (March 5, 1856 – February 28, 1951) was an American author, dramatic reader, playwright, professor, and elocutionist.

Her father also wrote countless books in the field of elocution and was the library curator and a professor at Cooper Union twelve years after the founding of the institution.

[1][2] Helena was born in Dayton, Ohio to a prominent family her mother was Harriet Tompkins Canfield and her father was John Celivergos Zachos.

During the American Civil War, her father was an active participant in the education of freed slaves during the Port Royal Experiment.

Helena continued her studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and settled in New York City with her parents and became associated with Cooper Union for the rest of her life.

Her father was born in Constantinople of Greek parents, and brought to the United States by American educational reformer Samuel Gridley Howe.

[1] Helena Zachos attended Wells College, graduating in 1875; she pursued further training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.