Portrait of María de Villota

Birthday profile

María de Villota

Spanish motor racing driver

Born
January 13, 1979
Died
October 11, 2013
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1979

About María de Villota

María Isabel de Villota Comba (13 January 1979 – 11 October 2013) was a Spanish racing driver who competed in Superleague Formula and Euroseries 3000. She had an accident in straight-line testing as the Marussia Formula One team test driver, where she suffered serious head and facial injuries, and died one year later. De Villota was the daughter of former Formula One driver Emilio de Villota, and sister of Emilio de Villota Jr., who similarly competed in Formula Palmer Audi. A foundation called Maria de Villota's Legacy (Legado María de Villota) was created in 2014 by the Young Sport Foundation in her memory. At approximately 9:30 on 3 July 2012, de Villota was involved in an accident at Duxford Aerodrome in England while carrying out straight-line testing for Marussia, her first time in the car. De Villota made her first public appearance since the accident in October 2012, giving an exclusive interview to ¡Hola! magazine and then hosting a press conference for the general media.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

María de Villota timeline

  1. At approximately 9:30 on 3 July 2012, de Villota was involved in an accident at Duxford Aerodrome in England while carrying out straight-line testing for Marussia, her first time in the car.
  2. De Villota made her first public appearance since the accident in October 2012, giving an exclusive interview to ¡Hola! magazine and then hosting a press conference for the general media.
  3. A foundation called Maria de Villota's Legacy (Legado María de Villota) was created in 2014 by the Young Sport Foundation in her memory.

The world when María de Villota was born

María de Villota was born in 1979. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1979

  • #1 song"My Sharona" – The Knack
  • Top movieKramer vs. Kramer
  • Top TV showLaverne & Shirley
  • Best-selling bookThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports moment"Miracle on Ice" (1980 — actually)
  • Top headlineIran hostage crisis begins
  • Technology milestoneSony Walkman released — portable music goes mainstream
  • Defining fadSony Walkman — portable music revolution
  • Notable inventionSony Walkman
  • World population4.38 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJimmy Carter
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonSeattle SuperSonics (NBA)
  • U.S. population225.1M

1979 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in María de Villota's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19792026
Gas$0.86$3.45/gal
Average home$62,900$435,000
Average income$19,554$67,500
Minimum wage$2.90$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.15$0.73
Population225.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Driver Database. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.