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.
