Kiki Feroudi Moutsatsos, the former personal secretary of Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis, recently revealed new details about one of the most mysterious love triangles of the 20th century, that of Onassis opera diva Maria Callas, and Jacqueline Kennedy.
The 75-year-old confidante of Onassis revealed in an interview with People, that the Greek shipping magnate continued a romance with Callas long after his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, the once First Lady of the United States.
The marriage of Onassis and Jackie Kennedy in October 1969 was primarily a strategic alliance rather than a true love affair. Onassis saw Jackie as the ultimate symbol of status, strength and power. This was done whilst seeking security for herself and her children through his immense money, wealth, and private infrastructure, which included properties, planes, and yachts.
However, underlying this formal union of marriage, a passionate relationship between Onassis and Callas was continuing its tale, as it had never completely ended. Moutsatsos, who organised many of their secret encounters away from the public eye, characterised their link as soul-deep, claiming that Callas was “a piece of his soul, body, and brain”.
Jackie Kennedy kept a respectful silence during this time regarding the situation, preferring to approach it with deliberate patience, rather than throwing everything into the abyss. She never openly challenged Callas, as she instead chose to address Onassis’ behaviour when the time was appropriate.
Onassis and Callas began their relationship back in 1957, while they were both married to different people.
Their romantic affair was defined by moments of both great love and tremendous sadness, including several pregnancy losses and allegations of emotional manipulation on both sides.
After Onassis died in 1975 of a respiratory illness, Callas withdrew from public life, losing, one could argue, her very will to live. She died of a heart attack in 1977, when she was 53 years old and only two years after Onassis’ passing.
This old romantic drama that obtained elements of an ancient Greek tragedy has been transformed into a new film called “Maria,” which stars Angelina Jolie as the great opera singer.
Callas / Onassis
1959 pic.twitter.com/GuoIQ70XUH— Leticia García (@Ms_Golightly) October 12, 2024
The official trailer for Maria, the biopic movie about Greek opera diva Maria Callas, was released in late October by its international distributor, Netflix.
With few images released thus far of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie as Callas, fans have now finally been offered a more comprehensive view into the actress’s transformation and performance alongside co-stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino.
The film will be out in selected theatres in the US on November 27th and debut on Netflix US on December 11th.
In Greece, Maria will premiere at theatres only on December 5th from Faliro House and Cinobo, the rights owners for Greece. A streaming premiere date for Greece was not been announced.
Related: Christina Onassis’ Influence on Her Daughter, Athina
