Opera singer Maria Callas was born on December 2, 1923, in New York, USA. She passed away on September 16, 1977.
The daughter of Greek immigrant parents, she began her singing career at a young age, driven by her mother's wishes. When her parents divorced, she moved to Greece with her mother and older sister. She studied singing under Elvira de Hidalgo at the Athens Conservatory, but around this time, Callas developed bulimia due to stress and became introverted for a while.
She made her professional soprano debut in 1941, and in 1947, she was selected to play the title role in "La Gioconda" at the Verona Festival in Italy. Her singing received high praise, and her career continued to grow, debuting at La Scala in Milan in "Aida" in 1950 and at the Metropolitan Opera in "Norma" in 1956. Her outstanding singing ability and dramatic acting, which deeply touched the story, captivated many opera fans at the time. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she married businessman Giovanni Battista Meneghini in 1949 and enjoyed a prosperous life. However, in 1954, she had a dispute with her mother during a Greek tour and estranged her from her husband. Her enraged mother exposed Callas's disgraceful behavior to the media, leading to public criticism that she was ungrateful and neglectful of her parents. Furthermore, in the late 1950s, Callas began to frequently leave performances due to throat problems, and her opportunities to perform on stage drastically decreased. It was then that Callas' heartbreak was saved by her meeting with the wealthy Aristotle Onassis. The two fell in love and had frequent trysts. Callas divorced her longtime husband, Meneghini, in 1959. Onassis also divorced his wife in 1960, and everyone assumed their marriage was a sure thing. However, in 1968, Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy, the ex-wife of John F. Kennedy. Callas's love, which she had maintained despite being labeled a "cheater" by the media, came to an end, and she was so deeply hurt that she attempted suicide.
After that, Maria took a break from her soprano singing career after her 1974 world tour. She died of a heart attack at her home in Paris in 1977.
