Maria was bornMaria Kalogeroupoulou at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center inNew York City, to Greek parents, she returned toGreece in 1937, with her mother and older sister. There, she studied singing with Elvira de Hidalgo, and made her debut while still a teenager with the Athens Opera in 1941.
During a short return to America to visit her father in 1945, she auditioned at theMetropolitan Opera without success. Her first major break came with her Italian debut inVerona in 1947, asLa Gioconda. There, she met conductor Tullio Serafin who became her mentor and guided her towards thebel canto repertoire. She sang her firstNorma inFlorence in 1948, and the following year, as a last minute replacement, she appeared as Elvira in Bellini'sI puritani inVenice, which was to be her first great success.
In 1949, she married industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini who became her manager. She was sometimes known as Maria Meneghini Callas after her marriage.
Shortly after, she made herdebut atLa Scala inMilan, where the major part of her career and greatest triumphs were to take place. In collaboration with conductors like Carlo Maria Giulini,Leonard Bernstein, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and directors likeFranco Zeffirelli and Luchino Visconti, lavish productions of works such as Cherubini'sMedea, Spontini'sLa Vestale, Bellini'sLa sonnambula andNorma, Donizetti'sAnna Bolena andPoliuto, Verdi'sLa traviata andUn ballo in maschera, were made especially for her to great acclaim.
She also made guest appearances at theRoyal Opera House in London, theBerlin State Opera, theParis Opéra, the LyricChicago Opera, theDallas Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
In 1958, she met Greek shipping magnateAristotle Onassis which led to her divorce from Meneghini, and slowly began to withdraw from the stage. Her final appearance was inTosca in London in 1965. She made a last world concert tour in 1973–74 with her often partnertenor Giuseppe Di Stefano, but by then her voice was almost gone.
Callas died of a heart attack inParis,France, at the age of 53.
