Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1992
Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1992Reuters

Hungarian-born Jewish-American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor passed away on Sunday at the age of 99 after suffering a heart attack, AFP reported.

Her husband, Frederic von Anhalt, told the news agency that Gabor had passed away at home surrounded by friends and family.

"Everybody was there. She didn't die alone," he told AFP. Von Anhalt was Gabor’s ninth husband. The pair married in 1986, making it her longest marriage.

Gabor was born on February 6, 1917, in Budapest which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was the middle of three daughters of Vilmos Gábor, a soldier, and Jolie Gabor, who were both from Jewish families.

Gabor's mother, Jolie, was an aunt of Annette Lantos, the wife of Hungarian-born U.S. congressman and Holocaust survivor, Tom Lantos.

Gabor’s resume includes a long list of film roles in such hit movies as "Moulin Rouge," "Lili" and "Arrivederci Baby!"

Her thick Hungarian accent was much parodied and especially her penchant for calling everyone she met "darling" -- or "dahlink" as she pronounced it.

Gabor explained once that "I call everyone 'dahlink' because I can't remember their names."

Her sisters were Magda and Hollywood star Eva Gabor, who achieved greater acting success in the United States than her sister for her role in the 1960s hit television series "Green Acres."

Gabor, who had been in and out of hospital since a hip replacement in 2010, had several close brushes with death in recent years, noted AFP.

A 2002 car accident left her partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. She also had a stroke in 2005. One of her legs was partially amputated.

In 2011, von Anhalt said he had kept the extent of Gabor's medical problems from her, so that she could enjoy the festivities in typical style.