Zsa Zsa Gabor

Background

Zsa Zsa Gabor was born Sari Gabor on February 6, 1917, in Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the end of the Second World War. Her father, Vilmos, was a Hungarian soldier and her mother, Jolie, was a jeweler. In 1934, she was discovered in Vienna while studying at a Swiss boarding school by an Austrian opera singer, Richard Tauber, who invited her to sing in his new production. Her performance marked her entry into the world of professional performing arts. In 1936, she won the Miss Hungary beauty pageant. Gabor left her home country with her sisters in 1941.

In 1952, she starred in her first of many iconic film roles in Mervyn LeRoy’s romantic comedy musical, “Lovely to Look At.” She also appeared in the smash-hit British drama film “Moulin Rouge” as Jane Avril that year. Towards the end of the 1950s, she began starring in films outside the drama and romantic comedy genres, including Orson Welles’s film noir “Touch of Evil” and the science fiction movie “Queen of Outer Space.” In 1968, she played the role of Minerva in an episode of the 20th Century Fox Television series “Batman,” based on the D.C. Comics comic book of the same name.

Gabor continued starring in many popular comedy films between the 1970s and 1990s, although most were poorly received by critics. In 1983, she starred in the third installment of Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise alongside Patricia Arquette and Laurence Fishburne, introducing her to an entirely new audience. She released her autobiography in 1991 and starred in an episode of the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” that same year. Gabor suffered multiple health issues during the 2000s, including partial paralysis from a car accident, two strokes, and a fractured hip. She passed away less than three months before her 100th birthday. Gabor married nine times in her life, out of which seven ended in a divorce, while one was annulled.