Maria Callas

Callas was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents. Raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son, she began her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Her early career was marked by wartime poverty in the 1940s and near-sightedness that left her nearly blind on stage. She endured scandals and publicized feuds, including the alleged rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. A mid-career weight loss is often cited as a factor in her vocal decline and the premature end of her career in 1963, after 22 active years.

Despite her dramatic personal life, her artistic legacy remains immense. Leonard Bernstein called her "the Bible of opera," and in 2006 Opera News noted that nearly three decades after her death she was still the definition of the diva as artist and one of classical music's best-selling vocalists. Her life has inspired numerous portrayals: Zoe Caldwell, Patti LuPone, Dixie Carter, and Tyne Daly played her on Broadway, with Caldwell winning a Tony. Faye Dunaway starred in a 1996 national tour. Celine Dion's 2007 French-language song "La diva" is about Callas and samples her 1956 recording of La bohème. In 2019, Monica Bellucci performed in Maria Callas' Letters and Memoirs, a theater show based on her own words. Angelina Jolie was announced in October 2022 to star in a biopic directed by Pablo Larraín. Callas died on Friday, September 16, 1977, at age 53.