Zsa Zsa Gabor dies at 99

Legendary actress and socialite passes away after long illness.

by Jennie Kermode

Zsa Zsa Gabor on set with cameraman Heinz Ritter
Zsa Zsa Gabor on set with cameraman Heinz Ritter

Zsa Zsa Gabor, one of the most celebrated celebrities the world has ever known, died today from a massive heart attack. She had been ill for some years but had been looking forward to her 100th birthday in February, with a party planned even though she did not expect to attend it.

The Hungarian legend, who first broke into Hollywood in the musical Lovely To Look At and is best known to younger audiences for her turn in A Very Brady Sequel, was rarely out of the society columns in her younger years and always had a new ballgown or a new quip for the press. On the silver screen she made notable appearances in the original Moulin Rouge, Touch Of Evil and Queen Of Outer Space, and she also found her way into cult TV series like Bonanza! and Batman. She was also famous for her numerous chat show appearances on which she would hint at scandalous love affairs and show off the diamonds she adored.

Gabor, who named her autobiography One Lifetime Is Not Enough, said "A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it," and she meant it, marrying nine times in all. She said that the love of her life was the actor George Sanders, who went on to marry her older sister Magda after she divorced him. She is survived by husband Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt, who never told her that her only child, Constance Francesca Hilton, had died in 2015.

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