Biography

Temperamental and ambitious Hungarian-born actress and singer with a penchant for romanticising her background and personal history. She was fond of describing herself as the 'Hungarian Garbo' (without sharing that star's self-effacing qualities). Maria began her career as a dancer with the Royal Opera in Budapest. She then acted on screen in German, British and American silent films. She became the first wife of famed producer/director Alexander Korda. Before he began to eclipse her fame, he was known in the business simply as "Maria Corda's director". By the time of Korda's divorce from Maria in 1932, sound pictures had arrived and her career was on the wane.

Her popularity was so big that Austrian investors refused their grant for the movie "Die letzten Tage von Pompeji" (1926) if the leading part wouldn't be recasted with Maria Corda - what finally happened.

She followed Alexander Korda from Hungary to Vienna and in 1921 gave birth to their son.

The later years of her life were spent in the vicinity of Geneva in Switzerland.

The change from silent movies to "talkies" led to divorce from Alexander Korda. María Corda, could not make the transition because of her strong accent in English.