Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress and socialite, dies at 99

Zsa Zsa Gabor pictured in 1955. Picture: Associated Press

Hollywood actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor has died aged 99, the star's husband said.

Prince Frederic von Anhalt said she died on Sunday after suffering a heat attack in their home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles.

Gabor, the great aunt of Paris Hilton, was credited with creating a new kind of fame based on flaunting wealth and possessing a jaded wisdom on glamour.

The Hungarian-born star was better known for her string of marriages, totalling nine if a quickly annulled shipboard ceremony is included, than her work on-screen.

The late Michael Winner, who directed her in the 1976 film Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood, once described her as largely playing a thinly-veiled version of herself.

She was also known for her wit, having once said: “I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.”

Gabor had long suffered from ill health after being partly paralysed in a car accident in 2002 and suffering a stroke in 2005.

She outlived both her older sister, Magda, and younger sister, Eva, who were also both actresses and socialites.

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. Picture: Associated Press

Gabor, born Sari Gabor in Budapest in 1917, started her career in the 1940s and went from being a beauty queen, to millionaire’s wife to major public figure.

Celebrities paid tribute to her on social media.

US chat show host Larry King said: “There will only be one Zsa Zsa Gabor. And, I liked her a lot. Rest In Peace, my dear.”

I Dream of Jeannie star Barbara Eden tweeted: “Rest in peace Zsa Zsa Gabor. She and her sisters were lovely ladies who were always fun and delightful to be around.”

Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese wrote: “Another Hollywood legend has left us, the glamorous Zsa Zsa Gabor, one of the wittiest beauties.”

Piers Morgan tweeted: “99 years old, 9 husbands, Miss Hungary & Hollywood star. What a life!”