Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor suffers stroke in LA

[KiwiCoromandel]

Hungarian-born actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor suffered a stroke and underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital to remove a blockage to an artery, her husband said on Thursday.

"She is recovering right now, and we have to see," Frederic von Anhalt told Reuters. "The doctors are very optimistic that she will recover. The operation was successful."

The stroke was the second suffered by Gabor, who was also the victim of a 2002 car accident that left her briefly hospitalized with head injuries.

Gabor, who is believed to be in her 80s, came to the United States with her sisters and mother just before World War Two. She became famous for her glamour, wit and temper in a career that thrived on her luxury-loving persona and penchant for calling everyone "Darling".

Her movie career began with mainstream films such as Lili and Moulin Rouge, both in 1953, before slipping into camp favourites such as Queen of Outer Space in 1958 and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1983.

The German-born von Anhalt, who is the Duke of Saxony, is Gabor's eighth husband. The couple married in 1986.

In 2002, Gabor was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital with serious injuries when a car driven by her hair stylist struck a light pole on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard.

In an incident she later parodied on screen, Gabor was also convicted of slapping a motorcycle policeman who pulled her over in 1989 because the Rolls Royce she was driving had an out-of-date license.

Gabor lists her birthday as February 7 but has always refused to reveal the year of her birth, believed to be from 1921 to 1923.

source:reuters