Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis: Biography and Romance

Maria Callas, born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulou in New York on 2 December 1923 to Greek parents, became one of the most celebrated opera sopranos of the 20th century. After an early childhood in the United States, her family moved to Athens in 1937, where she entered the conservatory and made her stage debut at 15. Post‑World‑War II, Callas returned to New York for further study, then settled in Italy in 1947, achieving international fame with roles such as Bellini’s Norma and Verdi’s Violetta.

During the late 1950s Callas entered a high‑profile romance with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Accounts place their first meeting at a lavish party in Venice (or Milan) in September 1957, after which they spent time together aboard Onassis’s yacht Christina O. The relationship, marked by public attention and personal conflict, continued until Onassis’s death in 1975. Callas later died alone in Paris on 16 September 1977.