She was the daughter of Yannis Boukouras, a wealthy aristocrat and entertainer who had opened one of the first theaters in Athens following the Greek War of Independence.

[1][5][6][7] While studying in Italy, Eleni began a relationship with Italian painter Francesco Saverio Altamura, with whom she had three children.

She later converted to Catholicism and married Altamura to legitimize the relationship, though her husband would eventually leave Eleni for his mistress, British painter Jane Benham Hay.

In 1876 her son Ioannis, himself a noted seascape painter, finished his studies in Copenhagen and returned to live with his mother in Athens.

[1] The tragedies she experienced in her life were the subject of Greek author Rhea Galanaki's novel Eleni, or, Nobody, which was later adapted into a play.