Maria Eva Duarte de Peon was the second wife of Argentinian President Juan Peron. She was the country's first lady from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is affectionately referred to as Evita by the Argentinians even until today.

Not much is known during the childhood and young adult life of Evita. What has been certain was that in 1935, she moved to Buenos Aires to pursue her dream of movie stardom. Because of the lack of formal education or connections, living in a city overcrowded in the 1930's because of the Great Depression, she continued to strive to find work onstage. She was able to land a few roles and commercials until her ultimate big break opened doors for her and her future.

Eva met the then Colonel Juan Peron on January 22, 1944 during a charity event for the benefit of victims of the San Juan earthquake. The couple exchanged vows the following year and in 1946, Juan Peron became the President of the country. During the term of office, Eva Peron ingratiated herself within the pro-Peronist trade unions as she championed labor rights.

During her husband's term, she also became Minister for Labor and Health and ran her own charity named the Eva Peron Foundation. She was also an avid supporter of women's rights and founded the largest female political party in the country, the Female Peronist Party.

In 1951, she announced the acceptance of the party's nomination for the office of Vice President. She was wildly supported by the political base she and her husband created, namely the descamisados or "shirtless ones". This sector was the poor and low-income individuals in Argentina. This move was despised though by the country's ruling elite and military establishment, causing much strain within the Peronist government. That same year, she was diagnosed with cancer that eventually made her decline the post.

In 1952, while battling cancer at the age of 33, she was proclaimed by the Argentinian Congress as the "Spiritual Leader of the Nation". She died later that year and was given an official state funeral despite not being an elected head of state.

Eva Peron's legacy continues to pervade the Argentinian consciousness. She has become the subject of a musical, named Evita. Even the current Argentinian President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, as the first female president of the country, owes a deep debt of gratitude to the previous work of Evita, for her passion and combativeness in fighting poverty and uplifting women's rights in society.