Maria's superstar career was launched in Venice in 1949 in an operatic version of  the musical 42 Street when another soprano engaged to play Elvira in I Puritani  became ill, and Maria took over the role and created a sensation  However, some critics began to savage her for her weight. In a review of her appearance in Aida,. a critic wrote that "it was often difficult to discern Callas's ankles from those of the elephant in the scene."

In 1953, Maria saw Roman Holiday and vowed to transform herself into an Audrey Hepburn doppelganger. She reportedly undertook a controversial diet by swallowing several tapeworms (tapeworms were marketed as diet aids in the United States early in the early part of the and  lost an estimated 80 pounds. She became svelte and glamorous and with her remarkable voice and flamboyant and demanding personality soon became an international celebrity.

Her personal life soon began to overshadow her professional life. During the late 1950s, she had an affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Onassis eventually divorced his wife, but married Jacqueline Kennedy although he also remained involved with Maria.  Her voice became strained and a series of high-profile cancellations followed.  Although she returned briefly to perform at the Met between 1964 and 1965, she had lost her status as one of the reigning great divas. However, her recordings when she was in her prime continue to make her a top-selling opera star more than thirty years after her death in 1967.

So let's  celebrate Maria's life with a kid's treat (and Maria's diet secret) and watch Fanny Ardant's brilliant recreation of her in Callas Forever (2002).  This is a dessert that most kids, usually boys, really enjoy and often brag about to their friends.