Zsa Zsa Gabor is an actress, born
Sari Gabor in
Budapest, Hungary, probably on or near
February 6,
1917. She is one of three Gabor sisters who had acting careers. The years of birth of the Gabor sisters were often lied about and thus remain uncertain. They were the children of Vilmos Gabor and his wife Jamsci ‘Jolie’ Tilleman (
1894-
1997). The sisters,
Magda,
Eva, and Zsa-Zsa, were noted for their beauty rather than their acting ability: Their mother
Jolie Gabor was noted primarily for being their mother. Zsa Zsa often claimed to have won the "Miss Hungary"
beauty contest in
1936, but Jolie did sometimes, too.
Zsa Zsa was known for her affection for jewels and for her quick wit but acquired a reputation for serial matrimony.
- She first married, in Ankara in 1937, Burhan Belge (1899-1967), press director for the foreign ministry of Turkey. He was later known as a writer and diplomat. They divorced in 1941.
- Zsa Zsa's second husband was Conrad Nicholson Hilton, whom she married in 1942 and by whom she had a daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton. They divorced in 1947.
- Zsa Zsa's third husband was George Sanders[?], whom she married on April 1, 1949. They divorced in 1954. George Sanders later married Zsa Zsa's sister Magda, and ultimately committed suicide.
- Zsa Zsa's fourth husband was Herbert Hunter, a financial consultant, whom she married on November 9, 1964 and from whom she was divorced in 1966.
- Zsa Zsa's fifth husband was Joshua S. Cosden, Jr., a businessman, whom she married in 1966 and from whom she was divorced in 1967.
- Zsa Zsa's sixth husband was Jack Ryan, an inventor associated with the Barbie and Chatty Cathy dolls. They married on January 21, 1975, and they divorced in 1976.
- Zsa Zsa's seventh husband was Michael O'Hara, whom she married in 1977, and from whom she was divorced in 1982.
- Zsa Zsa underwent a marriage ceremony with Felipe de Alba in 1982. The marriage was of doubtful legality (it was bigamous, as Zsa Zsa was still married to Michael O'Hara, and it was performed by a ship’s captain at sea, but not in international waters). The marriage, which in any case lasted but one day, was therefore invalid on several grounds: An annulment was obtained for good measure.
- Zsa Zsa's eighth husband is Frederick Prinz von Anhalt, whom she married in 1986. Despite the implications of his name, this husband was neither royal nor a prince. He was born "Robert Lichtenberg" and was adopted (as an adult) by Marie Auguste Prinzessin von Anhalt (who used such adoptions as a source of income). Via the adoption he obtained the surname "Prinz von Anhalt" but did not in the process obtain a title or noble status: Therefore Zsa Zsa is not, as is sometimes stated, a Princess of Anhalt.
Zsa Zsa was also linked romantically with Porfirio Rubirosa[?], a noted Dominican "international playboy". She refused to leave George Sanders to marry him, and Rubirosa thereupon married Barbara Hutton[?] (for seventy-three days) and then began his relationship with Zsa Zsa again.
Among the movies in which Zsa Zsa appeared were Moulin Rouge (1952), Lili (1953), Queen of Outer Space (1958), and Touch of Evil (1958). Though her movies continued, their quality did not, and her later career was as a celebrity rather than a serious actress.
The Gabor sisters (competing with each other for the limited number of rôles they might play with Hungarian accents) often engaged in always well-publicized "feuds", but it was Zsa Zsa who seemed to thrive on adverse publicity.
Zsa Zsa was accused of assaulting a Beverly Hills, California police officer when he stopped her for a traffic violation in 1989. She was found guilty in a well-publicized trial and was sentenced to three days' imprisonment.
On November 27, 2002 Zsa Zsa was involved in an automobile accident that was initially report as having sent her into a coma. The initial report was in error. Zsa Zsa was conscious by the time medical assistance arrived, and left the hospital in early January 2003, facing continued physical therapy.
Zsa Zsa quotes:
- When asked how many husbands she had had: "You mean, other than my own?"
- "I don't take gifts from perfect strangers -- but then, nobody is perfect."
- "I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back."