Renowned Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor dies aged 99

The Hollywood star, arguably more famous for her larger than life personality and string of marriages than for her films, passed away at her home on Sunday, according to United States news reports quoting her publicist. More health issues followed in 2011, when an untreated blood clot led to a gangrenous infection, which forced doctors to amputate her right leg. She was also married to George Sanders at one time. She was believed to be 99.

She was partially paralyzed in a 2002 vehicle accident and suffered a massive stroke in 2005. Her rumored affairs with the likes of Sean Connery, JFK and Richard Burton inspired tabloid fodder that even Kim Kardashian would envy.

Her romantic scorecard was a “Who’s Who” of Hollywood heartthrobs of her day, and her kiss-and-tell book detailed romances with screen legends Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra. Magda and Eva also were actresses and socialites; Eva starred on TV’s Green Acres.

Gabor saw numerous health problems late in life, beginning in 2002 when she was hospitalized in a coma after a vehicle crash in Los Angeles. Gabor’s English improved, but her Eastern European roots became part of her trademark.

And earlier this year she was rushed to hospital just two days after her 99th birthday.

Her straight-faced, diva-style quips made her a popular talk-show guest in the 1970s and ’80s; in particular, Merv Griffin delighted in plumbing the depths of her shallowness. “And I couldn’t help kissing her back because she was so overwhelmingly strong and so handsome”, Gabor wrote. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house”, or “I want a man who’s kind and understanding. At her peak, Gabor was one of the most famous women in the world.

She had a rocky relationship with Francesca over the years, suing her in 2005 for allegedly forging her signature to get a $2 million loan. Her husband stated that he was determined to make her wish come true and that he meant to arrange for “a big party in the summer” to celebrate the actress’ 100th birthday, after which she would return to Budapest.

Gabor was born in Budapest to Hungarian parents Vilmos Gábor and socialite Jolie Gabo. The birth date, as might be expected, varies, but it is considered to be February 6, 1917.

Author Gerold Frank, who helped Gabor write her autobiography in 1960, describes his impressions of her while the book was being written: “Zsa Zsa is unique”.

Gabor was born in Hungary and began as a stage actor there, before winning the Miss Hungary crown in 1936. She made her feature film debut in the 1952 movie Lovely To Look At. The star has appeared in movies such as Moulin Rouge, the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil, and Queen of Outer Space, to name a few. Due to this marriage, Gabor was the great-great aunt of Paris Hilton.

In 2011, von Anhalt said he had kept the extent of Gabor’s medical problems from her, so that she could enjoy the festivities in typical style.

In 1986, at age 69, she married Prinz von Anhalt, some 30 years her junior.