Jolie Gabor

Jolie Gabor was born Janka Tilleman on September 30, 1896. Her actual birth date has been a topic of controversy, as some places state her birth year as 1894. She was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, to Jewish parents. Her father's name was Jona Harsch Tilleman and her mother's name was Chane Faige.

Gabor was the 3rd of 4 children. She had two older sisters, Janette and Dora, and a younger brother Sebastian. Her parents were well-known jewelers and operators of "The Diamond House"

Jolie Gabor started her entrepreneurial career in the 1930s when she opened Crystello in Budapest. This shop sold crystal and porcelain ornaments and trinkets.

During this time she also opened Jolie's. This shop sold handmade costumes and jewelery.

After some success she opened a second location in Gyor. Eventually she had 5 shops scattered throughout Budapest. She became the most well-known jeweler in Budapest.

Unfortunately her booming business came to a halt when Nazis occupied Budapest in 1944. She fled to Portugal along with several other family members.

She got back on her feet and moved to the United States in 1945 and then decided to open up a business in New York City.

Although she was known primarily for her jewelry empire, she also published 2 books -Jolie Gabor and Jolie Gabor's Family Cookbook. Her first book, Jolie Gabor's Family Cookbook, was published in 1962. It was co-written with Ted and Jean Kaufman. The book contains over 300 recipes. The recipes cover the entire spectrum of Eastern European cooking.

Her second book, Jolie Gabor, was published in 1975. It was co-written with long time family friend Cindy Adams.

This work was a memoir detailing the storied life of this jewelry mogul. It dives into the more sordid details of Gabor's personal life.

Adams has gone on the record to say that most of the details in the book were staged for the publication. She stated that Gabor and her family were so image-conscious that they hardly told the truth about anything.