Glamorous Facts About Eva Gabor, The First Modern Celebrity
Eva Gabor was the quintessential mid-century Hollywood starlet who seemed to have it all: fame, fortune, beauty, and success. Her defining public persona pioneered the modern celebrity. But behind her glamorous socialite image, she lived a life both controlled and overshadowed by others.
1. Her Family Fled Conflict
Eva was born in Budapest in 1919 to Hungarian Jewish parents. From the beginning, drama loved her. In the 1930s, her entire family was forced to flee the country as tensions heated up in Europe. Although they eventually settled safely in America, some of Eva's older relatives, including her grandparents, perished in the war.
Unfortunately for Eva, that was just the beginning of some serious family issues.
2. Her Mother Pressured Her
Eva’s mother, Jolie Gabor, aspired to be an actress. She married Eva’s father, Vilmos, a wealthy major in the Hungarian army, and Eva grew up alongside her older sisters Magda and Zsa Zsa. But as Jolie's hopes of fame withered with age, she began to live vicariously through her daughters and ensure they realized her dreams.
This would take an enormous and disturbing psychological toll on the girls.
3. Her Mother Was Brutally Scathing
It wasn't enough for Jolie that her daughters were beautiful and fashionable; they had to be the most beautiful and the most fashionable. Later, Eva and her sisters would express frustration at how they could never quite reach their mother’s impossible goals for them.
Case in point: In Jolie'sautobiography, she says that Eva's sister Magda was so "very fat" as a girl, she was ashamed to be seen with her. But the matriarch's cruel efforts nonetheless yielded results...for a time.
4. She Was A Teenage Bride
When Eva was just 18 years old, she caught the eye of Swedish osteopath Dr Eric Dimmer and soon became his bride. Her marriage coincided with an enormous change.With Dr Drimmer, Eva became the first of her family to emigrate to America, forging a path she hoped would lead to glamour, riches, and fame.
And it did—but all that glittered wasn't gold.
