Eva Gabor

Eva Gabor (February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-born American actress, businesswoman, socialite, and singer, best known for her portrayal of the elegant but comically out-of-place Lisa Douglas in the CBS sitcom Green Acres from 1965 to 1971. The youngest of the glamorous Gabor sisters—alongside Zsa Zsa and Magda—she rose to prominence in Hollywood through a combination of film, television, stage, and voice acting, while also building a successful career in fashion with her line of wigs and beauty products. Her career spanned over five decades, marked by her distinctive Hungarian accent, sophisticated persona, and frequent appearances in supporting roles that highlighted her charm and wit.

Born Éva Gábor in Budapest to Vilmos Gábor, a soldier, and Jolie Tilleman, an heiress, she grew up in a Jewish family amid rising political tensions in Hungary during the 1930s. The family fled Europe in, with Eva being the first sister to emigrate to the United States, marrying Swedish osteopath Eric Drimmer that year to secure her passage. She began her acting career in New York with a bit part in the 1941 film Forced Landing and soon transitioned to Broadway, earning acclaim for her role in the 1950 production of The Happy Time, which ran for over 500 performances. Throughout the 1950s, she appeared in films such as Paris Model (1953) and Gigi (1958), often playing glamorous European types, and hosted her own short-lived talk show, The Eva Gabor Show, from 1953 to 1954.

Eva Gabor was born on February 11, 1919, in Budapest, Hungary, to Vilmos Gábor, a soldier who rose to the rank of colonel, and Jolie Gábor (née Janka Tilleman), a trained jeweler and entrepreneur. The family enjoyed an affluent and cultured lifestyle, supported by Vilmos's military career and Jolie's business acumen in the jewelry trade, which allowed for a comfortable existence in pre-World War II Hungary. Of Jewish heritage—Vilmos had changed his surname from the more overtly Jewish Grün to Gábor amid rising anti-Semitism—the Gabors maintained a sophisticated household that emphasized social graces and cultural refinement.