Christina Onassis (Greek: Χριστίνα Ωνάση; December 11, 1950 -- November 19, 1988) was an American born Greek businesswoman and heiress to the Onassis fortune as the daughter of Aristotle Onassis and Athina Livanos. Initially one of two heirs, she inherited 55% of the Onassis fortune upon the unexpected death of her brother Alexander Onassis (the remaining 45% funded a foundation established in Alexander's memory, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis received $26 million). She is also the late mother of Athina Roussel.
Background
Born in New York City at LeRoy Sanitarium, Onassis grew up in France and Greece,
Onassis lost her entire immediate family within a period of 29 months. Her brother Alexander died in a plane crash in 1973, and her mother died of drug overdose in 1974.[citation needed] Her father's health had started to deteriorate after Alexander's death, and he died in 1975. After his death, she renounced U.S. citizenship and donated the American portion of her holdings in her father's company to the American Hospital of Paris. Alexander 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 became very involved in the business operations of the Onassis shipping empire and successfully ran the business after her father's death.
Marriages
Onassis was married four times; each marriage ended in divorce. Her first three husbands were southern California real estate developer Joseph Bolker (whom Christina's father pressured her to divorce), Alexandros Andreadis, and Sergei Kauzov. Her final marriage, to Thierry Roussel, produced her only child, daughter Athina Roussel.
Death
Christina Onassis died at the age of 37 at a country club near Buenos Aires, from a pulmonary edema that may have occurred as a side effect of diet or sleeping pills.
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