Marriage tips from the insatiable Zsa Zsa Gabor
The actress with her last – and most enduring – husband: Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt. Photo: Getty
While technically an actress, Zsa Zsa Gabor was best known for marrying well and marrying often.
The high-profile socialite, who died after a long battle with illness on Saturday, took nine husbands in her 99 years.
In the end, it was Gabor’s final husband Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt – who she married in 1986 – by her side when she died of a heart attack.
The actress was partially paralysed after a car accident in 2002. Photo: Getty
Born in Hungary of Jewish parents, Zsa Zsa was the best known of the once-famous Gabor sisters – Zsa Zsa, Eva and Magda – who each made their way to the United States from war-torn Europe.
Along with some creditable acting roles, the 1936 Miss Hungary’s fame came mostly from her provocative sense of humour and tendency to purposefully underestimate her age.
Entertainer Bob Hope once joked of the actress: “You can calculate Zsa Zsa Gabor’s age by the rings on her fingers.”
Among her nine husbands were actor George Sanders and hotel magnate Conrad Hilton – the grandfather of Paris Hilton.
Zsa Zsa was divorced seven times and had one marriage annulled.
So after so many romances, Gabor must have had some sage advice to share, right? Here’s a selection of her best quotes about men, love and money.
Zsa Zsa Gabor’s tips for marriage:
“A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.”
“Husbands are like fires – they go out when unattended.”
“I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back.”
Gabor, second husband Conrad Hilton and Natalie Wood in 1957. Photo: Getty
When asked how many husbands she had had: “You mean apart from my own?”
“A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it.”
“I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I divorce a man, I keep his house.”
Gabor with husband number six, actor Jack Ryan, after their wedding in 1975. Photo: Getty
“Macho does not prove mucho.”
“Being jealous of a beautiful woman is not going to make you more beautiful.”
“I pay all my own bills. I want to choose the man. I do not permit men to choose me.”
Gabor feeds third husband George Sanders in 1950. Photo: Getty
“The only way to learn a language properly, in fact, is to marry a man of that nationality. You get what they call in Europe a ‘sleeping dictionary’. Of course, I have only been married five times, and I speak seven languages. I’m still trying to remember where I picked up the other two.”
“I believe in large families: every woman should have at least three husbands.”
“Personally, I know nothing about sex, because I have always been married.”
“To a smart girl men are no problem – they’re the answer.”
“I want a man who’s kind and understanding. Is that too much to ask of a millionaire?”
Gabor with fifth husband Joshua S Crosden in 1966. Photo: Getty
“The only place men want depth in their women is in their décolletage.”
“The best way to attract a man immediately is to have a magnificent bosom and a half-size brain and let both of them show.”