BIOGRAPHY OF MÁXIMA ZORREGUIETA

Máxima Zorreguieta was born in a private clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 17th, 1971, as the oldest daughter of Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta (Buenos Aires 28.1.1928) and María del Carmen Cerruti (8.9.1944). She was named after one of her paternal great-grandmothers and was baptised in the Nuestra Señora del Socorro Church in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, on June 3rd, 1971. She had already three sisters from the first marriage of her father with Martha Lopéz Gil: Maria (26.7.1956), Angeles (4.6.1958) and Dolores (20.6.1965). Máxima later got two brothers, Martin (28.10.1972) and Juan (4.10.1982), and a sister, Ines (4.12.1984).

Máxima grew up in a quite modest apartment in Uriburu Street, Barrio Norte. She went to the Colegio Mallinkroth in La Recoleta, a primary school led by German nuns, and until her exams in 1988 to the Northlands College, a private secondary school in the residential district Olivos in Buenos Aires. Lessons there were given in Spanish and English. In her exam year she led the volleyball team of her school. In 1989 Máxima started studying economics at the Universidad Catolica Argentina (UCA) in Buenos Aires. She was a good student and graduated in May 1996. During her study she worked in Buenos Aires: from 1989 to 1990 for Mercado Abierto S.A. where she researched software for the financial market, and from 1992 to 1995 for Boston Securities S.A. at the Sales Department. She also teached English to children and adults and mathematics to secondary school and first year students.

Máxima left for New York, USA, and worked from July 1996 to March 1998 for HSBC (=Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation) James Capel Inc. as Vice-President Latin American Institutional Sales. Until August 1999 she also worked for the German-British business bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson as Vice-President at the department Emerging Markets, specialised in Equities. First she lived in Soho and later in Chelsea. From August 1999 she worked for the Deutsche Bank as Vice-President Institutional Sales. In May 2000 she was transferred to Brussels, Belgium, where she worked at the EU Representative office of the Deutsche Bank.

Máxima is said to like music, skiing, dancing and shopping.