Bella Nagy (née Grósz; 4 July 1879 – 30 January 1947) was a Hungarian actress, and the second wife of writer Mór Jókai.
Early life
Bella Grósz was born in Jákó, Hungary, the daughter of Jewish parents, Móric Grósz and Éva Flamm.[1][2] Her father was a mechanic. She graduated from a commercial school in Óbuda before pursuing an interest in the theatre, attending the Rákosi Szidi acting school.[3]
Career
Nagy had her stage debut in 1898, and performed in several works by Mór Jókai before she married the writer in 1899 in Budapest.[4] Their age difference (he was 74 and she was 20), plus their religious differences, caused a scandal, and his family tried to have him declared incompetent.[1][5] She left the stage reluctantly, and attempted a comeback in 1901,[6] but continued in the public eye as Jókai's wife.[7]
After his death, she was his sole heir, outraging other claimants and causing further scandal and prolonged legal battles; she lost those battles, and was left without support from Jókai's estate.[8][9][10]
Nagy married writer Mór Jókai in 1899,[13] as his second wife; they honeymooned in Sicily. His first wife, Róza Laborfalvi, was also an actress.[14] Nagy was widowed when Jókai died in 1904;[15][16] she never remarried.[1]
She moved to England in the 1939, to flee the Nazis and to arrange for an English-language edition of her husband's works. She lost her life pension in 1942, when Germany pressured Hungary to cease payments.[12] She died in 1947, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, aged 67.[17]
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