Maria Elena is a businesswoman from the United States who runs the Buddy-Holy Educational Foundation. She is best known as the wife and widow of rock star Buddy Holly. She remarried after her husband died and had three children. She still owns the rights to her husband’s image, trademark, name and any other intellectual property. She once sued Peggy Sue Gerron after her autobiography was published. She is known for her no-nonsense approach to defending the music, her husband’s image and legacy from greedy promoters and music labels.
Quick Facts
| celebrated name: | Maria Elena Holly |
| Real name/Full name: | Maria Elena Santiago |
| Sex: | Female |
| Age: | 89 years old |
| Date of birth: | 20e Dec 1932 |
| Birthplace: | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality: | Puerto Rican-American |
| Height: | 1.58m |
| Weight: | 68kg |
| Sexual orientation: | Straight ahead |
| Marital status: | Divorced |
| Husband/husband (name): | Buddy Holly (m. 1958, died 1959) Joe Diaz (m. 1963, divorced) |
| Children/Children (son and daughter): | Yes |
| Dating/friend (name): | N/A |
| Is Maria Elena Holly a lesbian? | no |
| Profession: | business woman |
| Salary: | N/A |
| Net worth in 2022: | $24 million |
Maria Elena Holly Biography
Maria Elena Santiago was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 20, 1932. She later moved to New York City and lived with her aunt Provi Garcia. Her mother died in 1935 and her father persuaded her to live with her aunt. She got her first job as a receptionist at music publisher Peermusic. Here she met Buddy Holly, who would later become her loving husband, in 1957.
Buddy and his group were on their way to meet Santiago’s boss, Murray Deutch. Buddy asked her out the day before recording the single Early In The Morning. This was her first date and she had to get permission from her Aunt Garcia. Buddy proposed to her within five hours of their first date, so it was love at first sight for them.
Maria Elena Holly Age, Height, Weight
Maria Elena Holly was born on December 20, 1932 and is 89 years old as of 2022. Her height is 1.58 m and she weighs 68 kg.
Career
After the death of her husband, Maria went underground for several years, because she wanted to leave everything behind. After he married her second husband, he persuaded her to honor Buddy’s memory by telling her story and protecting her late husband’s name.
She devoted her time to defending her husband’s work against piracy and exploitative record labels. Her duties include negotiating licensing agreements with those who wish to use Buddy’s music or image. Many people have accused her of being greedy, but all she wants is to enrich herself by using Buddy’s name.
Maria Elena Holly Achievements and Awards
Maria is purely a businesswoman whose sole purpose is to protect Buddy’s license and sign agreements with entities that want to use his image or music. Maria has not received a nomination for an award. She probably couldn’t be famous without her husband’s fame, because she didn’t have a public name without Buddy’s name.
Maria Elena Holly’s net worth in 2022
Since Buddy’s death, she has been responsible for all rights to his image, music and other property. Buddy’s name grew after his death, with many labels eager to produce some of his songs that he had yet to record. After winning the rights to everything Buddy owned, this became Maria’s job. As of July 2022, Maria Elena Holly’s net worth is approximately $24 million.
Maria did not attend his funeral after his wife died, and she has not visited his grave since his funeral in 1959. She blamed herself and the music for her husband’s death, and it took her years to listen to his music again. She claimed that this was the only time she was not next to her husband and that if she had been there she could have prevented Buddy from boarding that plane.
Maria Elena Holly Husband, Marriage
They married almost immediately after Buddy proposed to her, as they were a match in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy’s hometown. They lived in Lubbock before moving to New York after Buddy and The Crickets, his band, broke up. Both worked together in Buddy’s music career, where Maria did promotional duties before starting a publishing company. Maria’s first work as a producer was on the song Stay Close To Me.
Buddy and his two friends, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, embarked on a musical tour in early 1959, but they never returned and they all died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. Maria learned of her husband’s death through television reports. . She miscarried as a result of the shock of the news, although no one has ever confirmed that she was pregnant at the time. Authorities later enacted legislation requiring that victims’ names be disclosed only after their families have been notified.
