Based upon the life of Jacqueline Kennedy who was married to President John F. Kennedy and Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
Anthony Quinn later played Aristotle Onassis' father Socrates Onassis in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988).
In addition to the fictionalized version renamed James Cassidy for this movie, James Franciscus plays the real John F. Kennedy in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1981).
Star Anthony Quinn once said that Jacqueline Kennedy asked him to not make this movie according to an article published in the 9th September 1977 edition of 'The Washington Post' (1977) newspaper. According to his autobiography ''One Man Tango'' (1995), Quinn originally turned the movie down, but after Kennedy Onassis snubbed him at a restaurant, he changed his mind.
Reportedly, the paychecks of the two top billed name-above-the-title lead stars on this movie, Anthony Quinn and Jacqueline Bisset, were US $500,000 and US $250,00 respectively, according to an article published in 'The Los Angeles Times' newspaper on 14th August 1977. According to an article published in the 30th August 1977 edition of show-business trade-paper 'Daily Variety', Quinn's salary was US $400,000 plus a percentage of the profits for his participation whilst Bisset's salary was US $250,000.