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It is said that wealth does not bring happiness, but everyone has always sounded a bit false. On the other hand, the infinite possibilities of a huge heritage really seem the way to a perfect life. Still, the story of Christina Onassis it reveals to us the profound truth that lies behind a much criticized adage.
Since her birth, Christina seemed to have only lucky cards in her hand: second child of the Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis and his first wife Athina Maty Livanos, as well as Alexander Onassis’s sister, grew up in a family of immense economic possibilities. So much so that, together with his brother, he was able to attend the best schools and travel the world. But already as a young girl she started suffer from deep unhappiness, which then marked his entire life.
Brother Alexander (1948 – 1973), mother Atina (Tina), Christina and father Aristotle Onassis (1906 – 1975). Photo Getty Images
Just like her mother, who was nevertheless considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, Christina has always struggled to accept her own body. She underwent numerous plastic surgeries – the first at just 17, a rhinoplasty – only to find that the scalpel would never be able to allay her anxieties and enormous insecurity. One of the first pains of his life was there end of the parents’ marriage: Mom Athina, when her daughter was only 10 years old, filed for divorce after discovering that her husband was having an affair with Maria Callas.
Aristotle Onassis, set aside the troubled love story with the famous soprano, he is married to the splendid Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of the former president of the United States. A marriage that, according to reports, greatly disturbed Christina: once again, the young woman found herself dealing with a woman of surprising beauty, which increased her insecurities and threw her into a deep state of prostration.
Then, within a few years, one long series of tragedies marked his family. In 1973, his brother Alexander died in a plane crash, while the following year his mother was found lifeless – the circumstances of his death have never been clarified, although there has always been talk of an overdose. Aristotle, who had been suffering from myasthenia gravis for some time, saw his health deteriorate rapidly and died in 1975. A real spiral of suffering where Christina found herself sailing.
Even on the sentimental front, the young woman has never had peace. She got married 4 times, and each of her marriages ended in a quick divorce. In 1984 she pronounced yet another yes alongside Thierry Roussel, a French businessman with whom Christina had her only daughter Athina. It could have been the beginning of a new life, but fate has raged against her once again. In fact, her husband cheated on her with a beautiful Swedish model, having a son with her while he was still married to Onassis.
The fourth divorce probably marked the point of no return. All his life, Christina lived in ease and wealth, and having inherited her father’s entire estate allowed her to indulge in crazy spending and indulge in every whim. However, she was never happy: always struggling with weight, she underwent drastic diets and then put on weight again due to depression. For a long time he took drugs and amphetamines to be able to lose weight, developing an addiction that led to her death.
In 1988, Christina was found lifeless in the bathtub of his room, in a villa in Buenos Aires where he was a guest. He was only 37 years old. According to medical reports, the woman died of pulmonary edema, which resulted in a heart attack. Probably, sleeping pills and weight loss pills had by now exhausted his body. And this is how the troubled story of a young woman who could have had everything, and who instead has only suffered from infinite sadness, ends – early on.
Christina Onassis
