Maria Elena Holly
Maria Elena Holly
Celebrated Name: Maria Elena Holly
Real Name/Full Name: Maria Elena Santiago
Gender: Female
Age: 91 years old
Birth Date: 20th December 1932
Birth Place: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality: Puerto Rican-American
Height: 1.58m
Weight: 68kgs
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Marital Status: Divorced
Husband/Spouse (Name): Buddy Holly (m. 1958, died 1959) Joe Diaz (m. 1963, divorced)
Children/Kids (Son and Daughter): Yes
Dating/Boyfriend (Name): N/A
Is Maria Elena Holly Lesbian? No
Profession: Businesswoman
Salary: N/A
Net Worth in 2024: $24 million
Last Updated: November 2024

Maria Elena is an American businesswoman who runs Buddy-Holy Educational Foundation. She is better known to be the wife and widow of rock and roll star Buddy Holly. After the death of her husband, she remarried and had three children. To this day, she owns righto her husband’s image, trademark, name and any other intellectual property. At one time, she sued Peggy Sue Gerron after she published her autobiography. She is known of her no-nonsense approach in protecting her husband’s music, image and his legacy from greedy promoters and music labels.

Maybe you know about Maria Elena Holly very well but do you know how old and tall is she and what is her net worth in 2024? If you do not know, we have prepared this article about details of Maria Elena Holly’s short biography-wiki, career, professional life, personal life, today’s net worth, age, height, weight, and more facts. Well, if you’re ready, let’s start.

Early Life & Biography

Maria Elena Santiago was born on 20th December 1932 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She later moved to Ney York City, where she lived with her aunt Provi Garcia. This was after her mother died in 1935, and her dad convinced her to move in with her aunt. She got her first employment with music publisher Peermusic as a receptionist. This is where she met with Buddy Holly in 1957 who would later become her loving husband.

Buddy and his group had come to meet Santiago’s boss Murray Deutch. A day before recording Early In The Morning single, Buddy asked her out. This was her first date ever, and she had to ask her aunt Garcia for permission. For them, it was love at first sight as Buddy had asked her to marry him within five hours of their first date.

Personal Life

After Buddy proposed to her, they got married almost immediately as they married in Lubbock, Texas, were used to be Buddy’s home town. They lived in Lubbock and later moved to New York after Buddy and The Crickets, his band parted ways. Both worked together in Buddy’s music career where Maria took promotional duties before opening a publishing company where Maria’s first work as a producer was with the song Stay Close To Me.

Early 1959, Buddy and his two friends, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, embarked on a musical tour but were never to return and they all died in a plane crash on 3rd February 1959. Maria came to learn of her husband’s death from television reports. Due to the shock brought by the news, she had a miscarriage though nobody has ever confirmed she was pregnant at the time. Later, authorities formulated a law where victims’ names will only be disclosed after the families have been informed.

Age, Height, and Weight

Being born on 20th December 1932, Maria Elena Holly is 91 years old as of today’s date 9th November 2024. Her height is 1.58m tall, and her weight is 68 kg.

Career

After the death of her husband, Maria went underground for several years as all she wanted was to leave everything behind. After marrying her second husband, he convinced her to honour Buddy’s memory by telling her story and protecting her deceased husband’s name.

She devoted her time to protecting her husband’s work against piracy and exploitative recording companies. Her works entail negotiating for license agreements with those that want to use Buddy’s music or image. Many have gone to accuse her of being greedy, and all she wants is to enrich herself through Buddy’s name.

Awards & Achievements

Maria is purely a businesswoman whose business is entire to protect license and sign agreements with entities who would like to use Buddy’s image or his music. Maria has not been nominated for an award. Without her husband’s fame, most likely she couldn’t be known as without Buddy’s name, she had no public name.

Net Worth & Salary of Maria Elena Holly in 2024

Maria Elena Holly Net Worth
Maria Elena Holly Net Worth

Owning rights to Buddy’s image, music, and any other property has been her business since his death. Buddy’s name after death became bigger after his death with many labels eager to produce a number of his songs which he was yet to produce. This became Maria’s work after winning acquiring rights to everything Buddy had. Today, Maria Elena Holly has a net worth estimated to be around $24 million as of November 2024.

After the death of his wife, Maria didn’t attend his funeral, and since his burial in 1959, she has never visited his gravesite. She blamed herself and music for her husband’s death, and it took her years before she listened to his music again, According to her that was the only time she was not beside her husband and f only she was there, she could have prevented Buddy from boarding that plane.

9 COMMENTS

  1. You would not have known what would have happened to him. It was not your fault. You are lucky to have known him and he was lucky to have you.

  2. Buddy would have wanted his wife to manage his affairs whether he was either dead or alive. She has worked hard to protect his name and is deserving of whatever income /wealth that brings. Long live Buddy’s memory….he was special.

  3. I had seen Buddy Holly on American Bandstand,and The Arthur Murray show on TV.Those shows were fantastic.To me Buddy Holly was a giant in the music he had written.There never will be anyone like Buddy Holly,ever again.We all miss him,and I have all his albums including the Decca Album and EP.To me that’s a treasure.We all miss Buddy Holly….Amen

  4. I’ve always felt Elvis should been on his knees every night, thanking the Good Lord for adding Buddy to the awesome Heavenly band. Had he lived, he would have been the King of Rock and Roll! HE will always be that to me. Thank you, Maria Elena, For all you have done.

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