Netflix's "Maria," starring Angelina Jolie, imagines opera singer Maria Callas' last days. The true story of her life was of abuse, drugs, and health issues.

Yes, Maria is based on the true story of Greek opera singer Maria Callas, who died of a heart attack in 1977, when she was only 53 years old. Maria imagines the last few days of Callas’s life, in which once the once-great opera singer struggles with a drug addiction, hallucinations, and her declining health.

“Callas has always been a fascinating character,” Marc A. Sorca, CEO and president of advocacy group Opera America, tells TODAY. “You could write an opera about her — about someone who made an indelible impression in her 20s and 30s, and by the time she was 40 was finished as a singer. It’s a truly operatic story.”