10 Facts About the Fabulous Zsa Zsa Gabor

Zsa Zsa Gabor, the gorgeous and alluring Hungarian-American actress, was the epitome of old Hollywood glamour. From her impeccably styled blonde tresses, to her megawatt smile, Gabor dazzled her audience on the big screen, and her sex appeal lured many wealthy men into her bedroom. She made her mark on the entertainment industry with appearances in movies such as Moulin Rouge, but it was her life away from the red carpet that captured everyone’s attention. After passing away at the age of 99 from a heart attack, we’re paying homage to Gabor by sharing ten facts you may not have known about the Hollywood icon.

10. She Was a Ponzi Scheme Victim

When conman Bernie Madoff was given a 150-year prison sentence for conning investors out of $50 billion, it was later revealed that Gabor was one of the victims of his Ponzi scheme. As one of Madoff’s celebrity clients, Gabor reportedly lost $10 million in the scheme.

9. She Was an Opera Singer

While away at a Swiss boarding school, Gabor traveled to Vienna and met operatic tenor Richard Tauber. Tauber later invited Gabor to sing the soubrette role in an opera called Der singende Traum at the Theater an der Wien in Austria. It was the start of the actress’s short and brief opera career.

8. Ninth Time’s the Charm!

Gabor is well-known for her tumultuous love life, and when it came to tying the knot, she jumped in feet first multiple times.

She was married 9 times in total, beginning in 1937 when she married Burhan Asaf Belge, a Turkish politician, when she was just 15-years-old. They divorced in 1941.

She married Conrad Hilton, the founder of the Hilton hotels from 1942-1947.

Her third husband was actor George Sanders, and they were married from 1949-1954. He later married Gabor’s sister, Magda.

In 1962, she married investment banker Herbert Hunter until they divorced in 1966.

That same year, she married her fifth husband, Joshua S. Cosden Jr., but they split up in 1967.

She then took a brief hiatus from weddings up until 1975 when she tied the knot with inventor and Barbie doll designer Jack Ryan, but they ended up divorcing a year later.

From 1976 until 1983, she was married to lawyer Michael O’Hara. After they divorced, she married Mexican lawyer and actor Felipe de Alba that same year.

In 1986, she married Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, and they remained together until her death.

7. She Has Ties to Paris & Nicky Hilton

Gabor and Conrad Hilton were married in 1942 when Gabor was 25, and Hilton was 55. Hilton is the great-grandfather of socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton, so that would make Gabor their ex-step-grandmother.

6. She Was a Beauty Pageant Winner

Before she migrated to the United States, Gabor was collecting sashes and crowns after winning the title of Miss Hungary in 1936. As the winner of the competition, she was set to move on and contend for the Miss Europe title, but because she was underage at the time, she was unable to compete.

5. She Was Married for 1 Day

When Gabor tied the knot to Mexican actor and lawyer Felipe de Alba in 1983, it became her shortest marriage ever. Their union only lasted for one day, after it was discovered she was still legally married to her seventh husband, Michael O’Hara. After learning her seventh marriage wasn’t properly dissolved, Gabor and de Alba decided to go their separate ways.

4. She Was an Author

For those who envied Gabor’s ever-changing romantic life and the revolving door of men who came and went, the Hollywood actress wrote several books inspired by her love life, including Every Man for Herself, How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, How to Get Rid of a Man, Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Complete Guide to Men, and One Lifetime Is Not Enough.

3. She Has a Criminal History

In 1989, Gabor was riding around Beverly Hills in her $215,000 Rolls-Royce, when a police officer tried to pull her over. Gabor put the pedal to the metal, and a brief chase ensued. When the officer finally caught up to her, a small scuffle took place, and Gabor slapped the officer right in the face! She was arrested for assaulting an officer, driving without a license, and possessing an open container of Jack Daniels whiskey. She was later found guilty and sentenced to three days in jail. Afterwards, she blamed the entire incident on her “Hungarian temper.”

2. She Adopted Adult Men

Gabor finally found her happily ever after when she married Prince Frederic von Anhalt in 1986. The couple didn’t have any children together, but they did adopt a few adult men into their family. Von Anhalt is said to have paid Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt, the Duchess of Saxony, a large sum to adopt him and gain the title of Prince, and he and Gabor extended the same offer to men who were looking to be bestowed with the same honor. The couple reportedly adopted at least ten adult men who paid a sum of up to $2 million each. They each then legally changed their names to “Prinz.”

1. Family Feud

During her marriage to Conrad Hilton, Gabor gave birth to a daughter named Francesca. To say their relationship was volatile is an understatement. In her autobiography, Gabor claims Francesca was the product of rape, and she and Hilton divorced before the child was born. Francesca had a strained relationship with both of her parents as she grew older. In 2005, Francesca was accused of defrauding Gabor of $2 million, by forging her signature on a loan document. Francesca was allegedly trying to use Gabor’s $14 million home as collateral. Gabor and her husband, Frederic von Anhalt, sued Francesca, but the case was later dropped when Francesca died of a stroke in 2015.