Zsa Zsa Gábor Gábor Sári
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Zsa Zsa Gabor, born Sári Gábor in 1917, was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite who epitomized the phrase ‘famous for being famous. She starred in Moulin Rouge 1952 alongside José Ferrer, but her notoriety came from her nine marriages, legal troubles, and TV appearances. In 1989 she was convicted of slapping a police officer, spending three days in jail. She died at 99 in 2016.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Zsa Zsa Gabor — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Zsa Zsa Gabor by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Zsa Zsa Gabor — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
In 1941, one year after her first marriage ended, Sári Gabor arrived in Hollywood with a letter of introduction to Basil Rathbone. She was born in Budapest in 1917 to Jewish parents Jolie and Vilmos, attended a Swiss finishing school, and finished second runner-up in the fifth Miss Hungary pageant. Her younger sister Eva had already settled in California, and Zsa Zsa followed, quickly integrating into the upper echelons of Hollywood society.
Zsa Zsa Gabor’s first film was Lovely to Look At 1952 at MGM, co-starring Kathryn Grayson and Red Skelton. Later that year she broke through with a starring role opposite José Ferrer in Moulin Rouge 1952, though director John Huston gave her a difficult time on set. She slipped back into supporting roles in Lili 1953 and 3 Ring Circus 1954. By the 1960s she appeared mainly as herself in cameo films like Pepe 1960. A memorable late role came in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear 1991, where she poked fun at her 1989 arrest for slapping a police officer.
Zsa Zsa Gabor married nine times, starting with Burhan Asaf Belge in 1935, a Turkish diplomat. Her second husband was hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, with whom she had her only biological child, Francesca Hilton, born in 1947. She later married actor George Sanders from 1949 to 1954, and her longest marriage was to Prince Frédéric von Anhalt from 1986 until her death. Through her marriage to von Anhalt, she adopted several adult men, including Marcus Eberhardt, a former brothel owner. In 1989 she made headlines for slapping police officer Paul Kramer during a traffic stop, resulting in three days in jail and 120 hours of community service.
Zsa Zsa Gabor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and a Golden Globe Award. After her death in 2016, about 75% of her ashes were returned to Budapest, where they were buried, with the remainder interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park. She coined the catchphrase dahlink and was among the first celebrities to be famous for being famous. Her life spanned nine marriages, two continents, and 99 years.
The complete filmography of Zsa Zsa Gabor — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Zsa Zsa Gabor — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Zsa Zsa Gabor — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
To Be Loved Is a Strength. to Love Is a Weakness.
A Man in Love Is Incomplete Until He Is Married. Then He Is Finished.
As a Woman, You Have to Choose Between Your Fanny or Your Face. I Chose My Face.
I Have Never Hated a Man Enough to Give His Diamonds Back.
To a Smart Girl, Men Are No Problem They’re the Answer.
Macho Does Not Prove Mucho.
Husbands Are Like Fires They Go Out When Unattended.
I Am a Marvelous Housekeeper. Every Time I Leave a Man, I Keep His House.
Getting Divorced Just Because You Don’t Love a Man Is Almost as Silly as Getting Married Just Because You Do.
I Don’t Remember Anybody’s Name. How Do You Think the Dahling Thing Got Started?
Conrad Hilton Was Very Generous to Me in the Divorce Settlement. He Gave Me 5,000 Gideon Bibles.
A Girl Must Marry for Love, and Keep on Marrying Until She Finds It.
It’s Never as Easy to Keep Your Own Spouse Happy as It Is to Make Someone Else’s Spouse Happy.
I Believe in Large Families: Every Woman Should Have at Least Three Husbands.
Being Jealous of a Beautiful Woman Is Not Going to Make You More Beautiful.
If They Had as Much Adultery Going on in New York as They Said in the Divorce Courts, They Wouldn’t Have Had Enough Time Left Over to Run the Subways or Mow the Grass in Central Park and They Would Never Have a Chance to Make the Beds at the Plaza.
The Only Place Men Want Depth in a Woman Is in Her Décolletage.
You Never Really Know a Man Until You Have Divorced Him.
When You Are Married to an Actor, You Feel You Are Nothing but an Understudy to Him. He Only Has Eyes for Himself. It Is Really the One Situation I Know of Where with Just Two People You Have a Triangle.
The Only Way to Learn a Language Properly, in Fact, Is to Marry a Man of That Nationality. You Get What They Call in Europe a Sleeping Dictionary. of Course, I Have Only Been Married Five Times and I Speak Seven Languages. I’m Still Trying to Remember Where I Picked up the Other Two.
The Best Way to Attract a Man Immediately Is to Have a Magnificent Bosom and a Half Size Brain and Let Both of Them Show.
Man Have Always Liked Me and I Have Always Liked Men. but I Like a Mannish Man, a Man Who Knows How to Talk to and Treat a Woman Not Just a Man with Muscles.
Little-known facts about Zsa Zsa Gabor — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Her daughter Francesca Hilton died at age 67 of a massive stroke on January 5, 2015. She was cremated and her ashes interred beside Gabor’s sister Eva Gabor at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Gabor herself died 23 months later, never told of her daughter’s death due to concerns about her physical and emotional state.
She and her sisters racked up a combined total of 20 marriages.
Both Zsa Zsa Gabor and her sister Magda Gabor were married to George Sanders.
Her right leg was amputated on January 14, 2011.
Along with her native Hungarian, she spoke English, French, German, and Italian.
She gave birth to her only child at age 30: daughter Francesca Hilton, born March 10, 1947, with father Conrad Hilton, her second husband.
With her numerous marriages and world-class catty wit, she came to epitomize the phrase famous for being famous. Despite appearing in several well-known films, she owed her notoriety more to her private life and countless talk show appearances than to her work as a movie star.
She passed away less than two months before what would have been her 100th birthday.
In 1989, when tried for assaulting a police officer, she said she was afraid to go to jail because lesbians might attack her.
Strong doubts have been raised about her claim to the title of German princess through her marriage to Prince Frédéric von Anhalt. Frédéric’s father, a policeman and commoner, paid elderly aristocrat Princess Marie-Auguste von Anhalt, daughter-in-law of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a considerable sum to adopt his son. Old European royalty does not recognize his title. Zsa Zsa’s husband’s real name is Hans Robert Lichtenberg.
The home she shared with husband Frédéric von Anhalt was used as the location for Liberace’s mansion during filming of Behind the Candelabra 2013 and as Alan Arkin’s character residence in Argo 2012.
Her real birth name was Sari after Sári Fedák, at the time Hungary’s most celebrated actress.
She arrived in Hollywood in 1941 with a letter of introduction to Basil Rathbone and his wife Ouida Bergère, who granted her admittance into the upper echelons of Hollywood society.
She was considered for the role of Miss Caswell in All About Eve 1950, but Marilyn Monroe was cast instead.
Both she and third husband George Sanders played Special Guest Villains on Batman 1966.
She was married to Jack Ryan from January 21, 1975 to August 24, 1976. Ryan was an engineer and designer who formally worked for Mattel, Inc., where he was instrumental in the creation of the iconic Barbie doll as well as Hot Wheels and the Chatty Cathy doll.
Due to severe dementia, she was never told of her daughter Francesca’s passing in January 2015; her family and doctors chose not to tell her, and she remained unaware of it until her own death nearly two years later.
Her marriage to Frédéric von Anhalt awarded her the title Princess von Anhalt, Duchess of Saxony. The legitimacy of this title is strongly questioned by many royal genealogists.
Daughter of Jolie Gabor. Sister of Magda Gabor and Eva Gabor. Mother of Francesca Hilton and ex-step-great-grandmother of Paris Hilton and Nicky Rothschild.
She had a public romance with Porfirio Rubirosa while married to George Sanders. Rubirosa returned to Gabor after divorcing Barbara Hutton, just 53 days after their wedding. In 1954 Gabor sported an eye patch, telling the press that Rubirosa had hit her in a fit of jealous rage.
Once held up an episode of The New Hollywood Squares 1986 for about 45 minutes after breaking a fingernail.
She was inducted into the B-Movie Hall of Fame on October 26, 2004.
She and Joanne Dru worked together on 3 Ring Circus 1954 but did not like each other and clashed often. After one particular incident in which Dru got the better of her, she said, I will get even with you if it takes forever. Dru replied, It probably will, but aren’t you rather old to talk about a future?
Though driving a Rolls-Royce at the time of her much-publicized altercation with a police officer, she had previously done television commercials for Studebaker.
She and ex-husband George Sanders both appeared as villains on Batman 1966. Gabor played Minerva, the glamorous owner of a mineral spa, in the series finale, while Sanders appeared in a two-part episode as Mr. Freeze.
She worked with her ex-husband George Sanders and his elder brother Tom Conway in the crime drama Death of a Scoundrel 1956.
She campaigned in 1968 and 1972 for Richard Nixon, whom she described as the most intelligent President of our time.
Together with her husband Frédéric von Anhalt she adopted a number of adult men, including Marcus Eberhard former brothel owner, adopted April 2006, Oliver Leopold strip club owner, Michael Maximilian health club owner, and a surgeon who prefers anonymity. All paid millions for their adoption.
Once replaced five-time Tony Award winner Julie Harris on Broadway.
She was born Sári Gábor in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, daughter of Vilmos Gabor born Farkas Miklós Grün and Jolie Gabor, Countess de Szigethy born Janka Tilleman. Her parents were both from Jewish families. Her paternal grandparents were Salamon Grün and Rozália Kluger. Her maternal grandparents, originally from Ukraine, were Jóná Hersch Tilleman and Chawe Feige Reinharz.
She was cremated after death, and her ashes were interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA.
She appeared in one film nominated for Best Picture Academy Award: Moulin Rouge 1952.
Gabor subtracted 11 years off her birthdate when filling out official documents, including her driver’s license and passport. Her true age was exposed in November 1989 by former boarding school classmate Elizabeth Nussbaum.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6915 Hollywood Blvd. on February 8, 1960.
In 1953, she was the celebrity spokeswoman for the Paper Mate Pen Company.
She was arrested for slapping police officer Paul Kramer in Beverly Hills after he noticed her expired license tag. Her short trial cost her $13,000 and a $12,350 fine, totaling $25,350. She served three days in jail and was ordered to do 120 hours of community service.
In response to her wishes, about 75% of her ashes were returned to Budapest, where they were buried, approximately 4½ years after her passing. The remainder of her ashes are in Los Angeles. Part of the delay was due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
She is referenced in the song Chop Suey from Flower Drum Song 1961.
She got her first Hollywood contract while visiting her sister Eva Gabor.
She was a first cousin, once removed, of Annette Lantos born Tilleman, wife of U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos. Her mother and Annette were first cousins.
An automobile accident in Los Angeles left her in a coma for a short time and subsequently paralyzed. She was a passenger in a vehicle that struck a light pole on Sunset Blvd.
At one time she starred on the Vienna stage and appeared on the cover of every Austrian magazine.
She was second runner-up in the fifth Miss Hungary pageant. Júlia Gál was crowned winner and Lilly Radó first runner-up.
She is referenced in the song Donna the Prima Donna by Dion DiMucci.
Her first husband was diplomat Burhan Belge; her second, hotel owner Conrad Hilton; third, actor George Sanders; fourth, industrialist Herbert Hutner; fifth, Texas oilman Joshua Cosden. The source lists nine husbands total.
During an interview at Omaha Eppley Airfield, she claimed to have danced with Adolf Hitler twice. She later told The Washington Post it was actually Josip Broz Tito and that she had gravely misspoken.
She claimed she never consummated her marriage with Burhan Belge and said she lost her virginity to either Willy Schmidt-Gentner or Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with Schmidt-Gentner most likely first chronologically.
Born in 1917, she was the oldest person to enjoy regular media visibility after Ronald Reagan left the White House.
In 1993, she and her husband were ordered by a judge to pay $2 million to Elke Sommer because of false accusations they made about her.
She was likened to the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Celebrities similar to Zsa Zsa Gabor — same craft, ranked by reach.
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