Tribute: Zsa Zsa Gabor

We mourn the loss of one of the 20th century’s most glamorous figures, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who went from teenage Hungarian beauty queen to much-married movie star and died today at age 99.

Long before social media and personal brands, she was a master of self-promotion, including perpetuating and mocking her own image. She said, “I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” Her nine husbands included hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, actor George Sanders, and the one who survives her, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, who paid a princess to adopt him when he was in his 30’s so he could (arguably) gain a title and who claimed to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s child (he was not). He was more than 20 years her junior.

In later years, her sister Eva Gabor was better known because she starred in the popular television series “Green Acres.” But Zsa Zsa had a lead role in “Moulin Rouge,” directed by John Huston and also appeared in “Gigi” as the subject of the song, “She’s Not Thinking of Me.”

May her memory be a blessing.