Christina Onassis (; 11 December 1950 – 19 November 1988) was a Greek-Argentine businesswoman, socialite and heiress to the Onassis fortune. She was the only daughter of

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

and Athina Mary "Tina" Livanos.

Early life and family

Christina Onassis, the only daughter of the Greek shipping magnate

and his first wife, Tina Onassis Niarchos, was born in Lenox Hill, Manhattan at the LeRoy Sanitarium. Her maternal grandfather was Stavros G. Livanos, founder of the Livanos shipping empire. Onassis had an older brother,

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. She and Alexander were raised and educated in France,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and England. She attended the Headington School in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Queen's College, London from 1968 to 1969. Christina's parents divorced in 1960, precipitated by her father's affair with opera singer Maria Callas. He later married former US First Lady

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

, widow of US President John F. Kennedy, in 1968. Christina and Alexander reportedly distrusted Kennedy and never warmed to her. Christina's mother married in 1971 Stavros Niarchos, the widower of her sister and Christina's aunt Eugenia Livanos in 1971. Within a 29-month period, Christina lost her entire immediate family. Her brother Alexander died in a plane crash in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1973 at 24, which devastated the family. Her mother died of a suspected drug overdose in 1974, leaving Christina her $77 million estate. Her father's health deteriorated after Alexander's death, and he died in March 1975. After her father's death, Christina renounced her U.S. citizenship and donated the American portion of her holdings in her father's company to the American Hospital of Paris (she held dual citizenship in

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

throughout her life).''Destiny Prevails: My life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina'', Paul J. Ioannidis, Livani Publishing, 2013

Career

Upon Alexander's death,

began grooming his daughter to take over the family business. She was sent to New York City to work in his office. After Aristotle's death, she inherited 55% of his fortune, then estimated to be worth $500 million. The remaining 45% funded a foundation established in Alexander's memory, the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation. After a legal settlement, Jacqueline Onassis received $26 million from the estate. Christina was the focus of her father's attention until his death; he considered her his successor and trained her in the business operations of the Onassis business empire. She carried the mantle of the Onassis shipping empire, successfully running the business after her father's death. Christina received considerable media attention for her lavish lifestyle, spending habits, and turbulent personal life. Her frequent battles with her weight and inability to find lasting love left her unhappy, despite her wealth. She frequently went on crash diets and would lose large amounts of weight, only to gain it back when she became depressed. Diagnosed with

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

at the age of 30, she was prescribed barbiturates,

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

s, and sleeping pills, to which she developed an addiction. Onassis was reportedly hospitalized for overdosing on sleeping pills in the 1970s.

Personal life

Christina Onassis and Sergei Kauzov 1978

In a period of 16 years, Onassis married four times, each ending in divorce. She wed her first husband, real estate developer Joseph Bolker, at age 20 in 1971. Bolker was a divorced father of four, 27 years her senior. Onassis's father reportedly disapproved and pressured her to divorce him. The marriage ended after nine months. Her second husband was Greek shipping and banking heir Alexander Andreadis, whom she married shortly after her father's death in 1975. They divorced after 14 months. Onassis's third husband was Russian shipping agent Sergei Kauzov, whom she married in 1978. They divorced the following year. Her fourth and final marriage was to French businessman Thierry Roussel in 1984. Onassis and Roussel had a daughter, Athina (named after Onassis' mother), in 1985. They divorced after Onassis discovered that Roussel had fathered a child with his long-time mistress, Swedish model Marianne "Gaby" Landhage, during the marriage.

Death

On 19 November 1988, Christina's body was found by her maid in the bathtub of a mansion in Tortuguitas, outside of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where she had been staying. An autopsy found no evidence of suicide, drug overdose or foul play, but found that Onassis had died of a heart attack caused by acute

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema (British English: oedema), also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive fluid accumulation in the tissue or air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. This leads to impaired gas exchange, most often leading to shortness ...

. She was 37 years old. A private

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

funeral was held for her on 20 November at a chapel on the Onassis-owned island of Skorpios, where she was buried in the Onassis family plot alongside her father and brother. Onassis willed her fortune, worth an estimated $250 million (equivalent to $ million in ), to her only child, Athina. Raised in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

by her father, Thierry Roussel and his wife, Marianne "Gaby" Landhage, Athina gained control of half of the estate on her 18th birthday.

References and sources

Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onassis, Christina 1950 births 1988 deaths Argentine people of Greek descent American emigrants to Argentina Argentine women in business Burials in Skorpios Businesspeople from New York City Greek businesspeople in shipping Greek socialites Livanos family Onassis family People educated at Headington School People educated at Queen's College, London Former United States citizens 20th-century American businesspeople Argentine businesspeople 20th-century Greek businesswomen Respiratory disease deaths in Argentina Deaths from pulmonary edema 20th-century Argentine businesspeople 20th-century Argentine businesswomen