Hollywood legend Zsa Zsa Gabor died Sunday after suffering a heart attack. According to Variety, the icon's rep confirmed to the publication that the 99-year-old Gabor had been on life support for the past five years, before passing away on Sunday. While Gabor was an actor, she was best known for her larger than life personality that paved the way for America's obsession with celebrities who were at their most famous when they were being themselves.
Gabor's life in the spotlight began in 1936 when she was crowned Miss Hungary. When she arrived in Hollywood in the '40s, her European accent and style became her trademarks, winning her roles in Lovely to Look At and Moulin Rouge (1952). Over her long career, Gabor appeared in everything from Orson Welles' Touch of Evil to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
However it was when Gabor ventured beyond film and television that she found true fame. Most people know her best as a socialite whose wit and penchant for falling in and out of love made her life front page news for gossip magazines. Gabor was famous for having nine different husbands during her lifetime, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton.
There was something beautiful about Gabor's refusal to apologize for loving to be in love. She was known for her controversial comments on sex, marriage, and men. In her 1970 book, How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, How to Get Rid of a Man, Gabor said, "Oscar Wilde once said, 'I can resist everything except temptation.' Personally, I can resist every temptation but marriage."
Before America was obsessed with keeping up with the Kardashians, they were addicted to keeping up with Gabor. From her many marriages to her famed run in with a Beverly Hills cop in 1989, Gabor's personal life was never truly personal and she seemed to prefer it that way. Throughout her life she frequently appeared on talk and game shows where she dropped fresh witticisms much to the public's delight.
Gabor's later life was marred by health issues and an estrangement from her only child, Francesca Hilton. Hilton accused Gabor's last husband Prinz von Anhalt of keeping her mother away from her. Sadly, Hilton died in 2015.
Even though Gabor left the spotlight during her later years due to her declining health, she never left the minds of the American public. Her personality shined too bright to ever be forgotten. Gabor's true gift may very well of have been never wearing out her welcome. No matter how much the world saw of her, they always wanted more — the mark of a true star.
