各国名人英文介绍-Maria Eva（在线收听）

Maria Eva Duarte de Peron was born in 1919 and died in 1952. She is referred to as Eva Peron, or more famously as Evita, which means “Little Eva”. She served as Argentina’s First Lady between 1946 and 1952 and was the Spiritual Leader of the Nation. She is one of the lasting cultural icons of the 20th Century.

Peron spent her childhood in a province of Buenos Aires. Her father walked out on the family when she was one, leaving her mother to cope alone. Eva worked as a maid to help pay the bills. She loved drama and acting at school. The cinema fascinated her and she decided to become a famous actress.

Eva left her small village when she was 15, in search of the bright lights in the big city. She made her acting debut in 1935 and joined a touring theatre company. In 1942 she had a breakthrough when she signed a five-year contract with Radio Belgrano. Within a year she was one of the highest paid radio actresses in Argentina.

In 1944, Eva met Juan Peron and they were married a year later. In 1946, Eva became Argentina’s First Lady. She used her radio fame to make powerful speeches to get Juan elected as president. She became immensely popular with the poor, who nicknamed her Evita. She died at the age of 33. Her rags-to-riches life was turned into musicals and movies, which made her famous worldwide.