Love’s Winning Game: Eva Gabor’s Philosophy on Romance
Eva Gabor’s quip that “love is a game that two can play and both win” perfectly encapsulates the worldview of one of the twentieth century’s most glamorous and witty personalities. The Hungarian-American actress, businesswoman, and socialite offered this observation with the knowing smile of someone who had navigated the complexities of love, marriage, and romance with both humor and pragmatism. While the quote may seem simple on its surface, it represents a particular philosophy about relationships that emerged from Gabor’s unique position in mid-century American society, where she occupied the rarefied space between old-world European sophistication and New World optimism. The statement suggests that love need not be a zero-sum game of winners and losers, but rather a mutual endeavor where both parties can emerge triumphant—a surprisingly modern sentiment for a woman born in 1919 Budapest.
Eva Gabor was born Éva Margarita Gábor on February 11, 1919, in Budapest, Hungary, into a family that would become synonymous with glamour and entertainment in the American consciousness. She was the youngest of three sisters—Zsa Zsa and Magda—and all three would eventually make their mark in Hollywood, though Eva would ultimately achieve the most sustained success and critical respect. Their father, Vilmos Gábor, was a diplomat and landowner, while their mother, Jolanda, was a former actress, ensuring that the family’s worldliness and theatrical flair were deeply embedded in the household culture. The girls grew up in an atmosphere of European elegance and sophistication, learning languages, refinement, and the art of social navigation from an early age. This privileged but cultured background would inform everything Eva accomplished later, providing her with the linguistic abilities—she spoke multiple languages fluently—and social grace that would distinguish her from other entertainers of her era.
Before becoming a Hollywood icon, Eva Gabor actually built a successful career in European theater and entertainment, first in Budapest and later in London’s West End. She began performing professionally in the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, establishing herself as a talented actress in her own right, not merely riding on her family’s fame. In 1941, she married Dr. Eric Drimmer, a Swedish physician, and this marriage lasted until 1952, resulting in one daughter, Francesca, who would become a documentary filmmaker. Eva’s European theater work gave her a classical foundation that many of her Hollywood contemporaries lacked, and she brought a certain theatrical polish to her later television and film work. She didn’t arrive in Hollywood until 1952, when she was already thirty-three years old, well-established in her own career, and possessed of a maturity and confidence that served her far better than the youth-obsessed culture of American cinema might have otherwise allowed.
Eva’s philosophy about love being a game where both players win likely originated from her own complicated romantic history and her observations of human nature across European and American societies. She would ultimately marry five times—first to Dr. Drimmer, then to Richard Brown, Sándor Szabolcs, Charles Vidor (a noted film director), and finally to Frank Gorshin, the actor and comedian best known for playing the Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series. Rather than viewing her multiple marriages as failures, Eva approached them with the pragmatism and elegance of someone who believed that love could be genuine and beautiful even if it didn’t last forever. She maintained friendships with her former husbands and spoke without bitterness about her romantic history, suggesting that even when marriages ended, both parties could have gained something valuable from the union. This perspective was genuinely countercultural for the 1950s and 1960s, when divorced women, particularly, faced considerable social stigma. Eva’s refusal to view her romantic history as shameful or tragic aligned perfectly with her philosophy that love could be mutually enriching without necessarily being permanent.
The quote gained particular resonance during the 1960s when Eva was at the height of her television fame, primarily through her role as Lisa Douglas on the wildly popular sitcom “Green Acres,” which aired from 1965 to 1971. In this role, Eva played a sophisticated, witty, European-born wife who found herself on a rural American farm, creating comedy from the clash of Old World refinement and New World practicality. The show became a unexpected phenomenon, demonstrating that American audiences were hungry for the kind of intelligent, urbane humor that Eva embodied. Playing Lisa required a different kind of comedic timing than slapstick or broad humor—it relied on subtle facial expressions, perfectly timed verbal delivery, and the ability to convey intelligence while appearing to be confused by rural American customs. Eva’s performance became iconic, and she brought the same grace and wit to the role that characterized her real-life philosophy about love and relationships. The character of Lisa, while appearing somewhat befuddled on the surface, was actually the moral and intellectual center of many episodes, always winning through her charm, intelligence, and genuine affection for the people around her.
It is lesser known that Eva Gabor was also a shrewd businesswoman who built a considerable fortune independent of her entertainment career. In addition to her acting work, she became known for her jewelry designs, fashion expertise, and business ventures in Europe and America. She and her sisters were canny operators who understood the value of their brand and carefully cultivated their