Born into poverty as the youngest of ten children, Zena's early childhood was marked by hardships, both because of her family's financial situation and her abusive father.

She supported public works, various organizations, churches, schools and hospitals and provided housing for both poor families and orphans.

She was heavily involved in the Cypriot struggle for independence from the British from 1955 to 1959, among other actions providing funding to the paramilitary EOKA.

[1] Her father became even more violent and succumbed to alcoholism after being wrongfully accused of committing a robbery, but he eventually left the family.

[5] As her family was unable to support themselves financially, Zena left school, having only been taught the basics of reading and writing.

[1] Once again unable to support herself financially, Zena began working as a cabaret dancer after receiving the suggestion from a friend.

[1] She worked hard to prepare, taking fitness and rhythmic classes for five hours a day, and her debut in Limassol was a resounding success.

[8] She also worked in other cities, including Nicosia and Larnaca, and quickly became one of the most famous cabaret dancers in Cyprus,[5] well known for her sophisticated and raunchy shows.

[3][4] Zena later described her work as a cabaret dancer as tormenting, and remembered having to handle men who hugged and stuck on to her carefully and politely in order to not lose her job.

[1] Gunther was American,[1] though he had been born on Cyprus,[9] and was unbeknownst to Zena a millionaire,[1][4] having acquired a fortune through mining and through the oil industry.

Zena took great offense to such articles since she only learnt of her husband's wealth after the marriage, when she was told about his fortune by his lawyer during the process of getting an American passport.

[9] Through the funds secured through her marriage, Zena began to spend enormous amounts of money on various charity works.

She paid for housing for families and orphans, education for children and donated large sums to various organizations, churches, schools and hospitals.

[1] In the early years of her marriage to Gunther, she often faced problems with the managers of his property, who intervened every time she wanted to do a charity project and forced her to fight.

She may have funded the later EOKA B during its 1974 coup attempt and in July 1978 she was implicated in a supposed conspiracy reported by Cypriot president Spyros Kyprianou which involved the German ambassador and various politicians and celebrities.

[11] After her adoption as "imperial heir", Zena continued to be a global socialite, a major charity donor and a prominent personality both in Cyprus and elsewhere.

[7] She was in her lifetime honored with multiple awards, including the title of Knight of St. Dionysios of Zakynthos, the Holy Cross of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark (granted by the Patriarchate of Alexandria), as well as numerous golden keys to cities in various countries, most prominently in Greece.

In 1997, the Cypriot author Gristakis Georgiou published Archipelagos: Twenty Years in Labour, a thinly fictionalized rendition of Zena's life story.

[8] After Zena's death in 2012, her large summerhouse in Prodromos fell into the ownership of the Bank of Cyprus[4] since her family was unable to maintain it[8] and it was purchased by a private owner in 2019.