The notoriously private Athina Onassis made a surprising appearance at Barcelona Bridal Week this week, stepping out for the first time in months. The 41-year-old French-Greek aristocrat, who divides her time between a small town in the Netherlands and Belgium, attended the Stephane Rolland fashion show alongside Swedish actor Fredrik Dolk on Wednesday.
A Rare Public Appearance
After a three-year hiatus from public events, Athina broke her silence in March last year and has since attended a select number of engagements, hinting at a possible shift in her reclusive lifestyle. At the Barcelona show, she dazzled in a flowing red co-ord set and debuted a darker hair colour. Before the black-tie event, she posed for photos with Dolk, known for voicing Buzz Lightyear in the Swedish version of Toy Story.
The Onassis Legacy
Athina is the daughter of French businessman Thierry Roussel and socialite Christina Onassis, whose father, Aristotle Onassis, owned one of the world's largest shipping fleets and was married to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Despite inheriting a billion-dollar fortune, Athina has faced immense personal tragedy, leading to speculation about the so-called 'Onassis curse' that has plagued her wealthy family.
When Athina was just three years old, her mother Christina died at 37, found dead in a bathtub. On her 18th birthday, Athina gained access to her mother's $2.7 billion fortune. She has largely stayed out of the spotlight, particularly after her ten-year marriage to Álvaro de Miranda Neto ended in 2016 following his infidelity.
Personal Struggles
DailyMail.com reported that Athina's security team discovered Miranda in bed with another woman in their Florida home. She immediately left for Europe, and the couple divorced. Miranda later married journalist Denize Severo and has two children. Athina also endured a miscarriage in 2013 and has no contact with her father, Thierry Roussel.
Despite her wealth, experts say her fortune has been poorly managed. She sold Aristotle's private Greek island, Skorpios, to Russian billionaire Ekaterina Rybolovleva in 2013 for an estimated $100 million. Athina is now the only living Onassis grandchild of Aristotle.
Her rare public outings, including a June 2022 appearance at the Longines Paris Eiffel Jumping show, suggest she may be slowly re-emerging from seclusion. At that event, she traded her signature bleached hair for a natural look and wore full makeup, a departure from her usual no-makeup style.
