Biografía

Was the last surviving star of Ben-Hur (1959).

Was fluent in Hebrew, English, French, and Italian.

Her first husband, Nachman Zerwanitzer, was an Israeli irrigation engineer. They owned an apartment in Tel Aviv.

Was the eldest of three children born to Reuben and Yocheved Neuberg, Polish Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel when they were teenagers.

At the 32nd Academy Awards in 1960, she presented the Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Bob Hope introduced her as "the beautiful Israeli actress Miss Haya Harareet, better known as Ben's Her".

It was quite a triumph to return to London four years later as the star of Ben-Hur (1959). My bathroom at the Claridges Hotel was much larger than my old bedroom in the boarding house.

[on success] Of course there is always fate, but I think there is more hard work and good judgment in good luck than most people realize.

[1961] I finished my contract with MGM on Nov. 11 and this picture [Los practicantes (1962)] came up immediately. That is a good sign.

[on being typecast] I am not Esther of Ben-Hur (1959). I am an actress who played the part of Esther. But that doesn't mean I have to go on playing Esther for the rest of my life.

MGM treated me as a father would have treated me. I was well taken care of. But I was not allowed to grow up. They could think of me only in terms of Biblical pictures. Other studios did not know me as a person, so they thought of me in the same way.