Heiress: The Story of Christina Onassis

Money, by the evidence here, was the sole interesting thing about this heiress's life. Crediting for his material interviews with Onassis pere and his daughter conducted by Peter Evans for his book Ari , plus his own with hangers-on, lovers and husbands, London Daily Mail columnist Dempster whisks us through the growing-up and post-Ari years of Christina, who died in 1988 at age 38. A baby unwanted by both parents, the unattractive child rarely saw either, but as a teenager--with a $4000 monthly allowance--she grew close to her father. Not until his death did she create sensational headlines: by surrounding herself with a dissolute set whom she both exploited and was exploited by; marrying and divorcing four times with stunning rapidity; taking lovers galore; endlessly humiliating herself. The gossip quotient here is high enough to satisfy tabloid devotees, although Jackie-addicts will be disappointed that Dempster supplies nothing new about the heiress's stepmother. Photos. First serial to Cos mo pol i tan and Star; author tour. (Nov.)