María Eva Duarte was born May 7, 1919, in Los Toldos, Argentina. Eva Perón was a prominent diplomatic figure in her home country as first lady and spouse to President Juan Peron. She was raised in poor conditions, with a dream of becoming an actress.

When she was about 20, Perón built up her own arts and entertainment business, the Company of the Theater of the Air, which managed various radio broadcasts. In 1943, Perón relished one of her greatest achievements: She signed an agreement that allowed her to depict a certain number of renowned females in history on an extraordinary radio series, offering her the opportunity to refer to great women like Queen Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great.

First Lady of Argentina

Perón’s life shifted significantly when she married Juan Perón, a lieutenant colonel and a state official, in 1945. He went on to become president of Argentina in the next year, and his wife has been proven to be a strong political influence.

Perón used her status as the first lady to battle for the causes she believed in, including women’s suffrage and improving the lives of the poor. She also informally ran the ministries of health care and employment in her husband’s government.

Perón went on to become a famous figure in Argentine politics. An accomplished speaker, she was admired by the impoverished citizens she had been working hard to help, but she was not short of opponents and cynics.

Requested to run as the vice president with her spouse in 1951, she encountered disapproval by the army. Perón eventually refused the post—perhaps due to the medical problems she was struggling with throughout this same time, resulting from her cervical cancer.

The Death of Peron

Perón made her final appearance in public in June 1952, at her spouse’s second inaugural ceremony. In the next month, she succumbed to her sickness: Perón died due to cervical cancer in Buenos Aires on July 26th, 1952. She had been given a funeral suitable for a head of state, demonstrating how much public backing she had from the Argentine individuals at the moment in time.