Athina Onassis made an incredibly rare public appearance last month and the heiress was almost unrecognisable as she stepped out for the charity event.
The former equestrian was known for her stunning sandy looks and preferred her natural beauty over makeup. However, at the event, she had swapped her sandy tresses for a stylish set of chocolate-coloured locks, worn in a blow-dry. As for her makeup, Athina had the works done, with an eye-catching set of mascara, blush, contour and eyeshadow.
The 40-year-old retained her sense of fashion and she looked absolutely incredible in a black lace dress alongside a bedazzled blazer that matched her outfit. She completed her ensemble with a cross necklace.
At the event, which was held at the Amis du Centre Pompidou, Athina could be seen posing with friends, including Ines de Cominges and Arnaud Cabri-Wiltzer.
Life of privacy
Athina typically shies away from the spotlight, instead preferring to live in her private home in the Netherlands, which houses its own stables.
She withdrew further from public life after she found out that her ex-husband, Brazilian showjumper Álvaro de Miranda Neto, was having an affair within their marital home.
© Alamy Stock PhotoThe couple started dating in 2003, before marrying in 2005 with Athina joined her husband in São Paulo. Following the discovery of Álvaro’s infidelity in 2016, they separated, with their divorce being settled in 2017.
The former couple had an acrimonious divorce, including clashes over the shared custody of their horses and Álvaro challenged their prenuptial arrangements and demanded alimony payments.
Wealth
Before her birth, Athina’s grandfather, Aristotle Onassis, had amassed a multi-billion dollar empire which included two Greek islands, priceless artworks and property and investments all over the world.
When Aristotle died in 1975 – two years after his son was killed in a plane crash – the family fortune went to his daughter Christina, Athina’s mother. However, after Christina’s tragic death from a pulmonary oedema in 1988 when Athina was just three years old, the vast estate devolved onto Athina.
© Corbis via Getty ImagesWhen Athina turned 18 on January 29, 2003, she gained access to the vast empire her grandfather had built. However, this fortune only represented one half of her legacy. Aristotle also intended his heir would manage the charitable foundation he’d set up in memory of his son Alexander, but this wouldn’t be transferred to Athina until she turned 21.
Proceedings took an unexpected turn in 2005 when administrators changed the foundation’s charter, removing Athina’s automatic birthright to become chairman on her 21st birthday.
© Getty ImagesTheir insistence that as she knew little of Greek culture and did not speak the language, she had no right to head up such an important organisation, led to Athina never taking her intended role at the foundation.
