Queen of Spain because of her marriage to King Juan Carlos I.

She was born in Athens on November 2, 1938. Daughter of the Greek King Paul I and Queen Federica, her family belongs to one of the oldest Royal Houses in Europe. She spent part of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa, since her family had to expatriate during World War II. She returned to his homeland in 1946 and completed her training at the German boarding school Schloss Salem and, again in Athens, specialized in Childcare, Music, and Archaeology. She participated as a substitute in the Greek sailing team during the Rome Olympic Games in 1960.

On May 14, 1962 she married Prince Juan Carlos de Borbón y Borbón in Athens, and in the following years three children were born: Infanta Elena on December 20, 1963, Infanta Cristina on June 13, 1965, and Prince Felipe on January 30, 1968, current King Felipe VI of Spain.

In addition to her participation in official and institutional events, the Queen Mother devotes a great attention to social and welfare activities. She is Executive President of the Queen Sofia Foundation. She also holds the Honorary Presidency of the Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción and of the Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad, as well as several cultural and musical institutions, such as the "Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía".

She also participates in several international projects on the development of rural women and the business expansion of the most underprivileged social strata through microcredit. She is an honorary member of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Academy of History. She has received an doctorate honoris causa from the Universities of Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia), Valladolid, Cambridge, Oxford, Georgetown, Évora, and New York.