“Money didn’t matter” – 85-Year-Old Medveczky Ilona, Who Paid a Fortune for a Princess Title
The diva married for convenience in the 1970s to build her Western career, including in Las Vegas. She circumvented travel restrictions imposed by the Kádár system with the Austrian passport she obtained.
Today, March 4th, marks the 85th birthday of Ilona Medveczky, a celebrated Hungarian performer whose life journey took her from a small room in a Budapest railway workers’ housing complex to the bright lights of Las Vegas and a German princess title.
Her story began with a determined childhood ambition. At a family gathering, when she was just three years old, she climbed down from the piano and declared she would be a “pinadonna.”
Though the mispronounced word earned her a slap from her father, the intention stuck. As she recalled in a previous, deeply personal interview, her goal was already undeniable.
That childhood dream was followed by relentless hard perform. By age seven, she was performing as an extra on the stage of the Erkel Theatre while too being accepted into the newly established State Ballet Institute. Her life revolved around the Ballet Institute, the Opera, and the Erkel, with early morning practice and rehearsals lasting until midnight, demanding military discipline and exceptional stamina.
The foundation she gained in classical ballet provided the poise that would define her entire career, but she soon realized her path led elsewhere.
From the founding year of the Pécs Ballet, she transitioned into the more glamorous, yet riskier, world of Budapest nightlife. She found her true calling in revue performances at venues like the Maxim Varieté, the Éden Bár, and the Moulin Rouge, where she earned more in a single night than her father did in a month.
An impresario recognized her talent and opened doors to the Western world. She first moved to West Berlin, and then on to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
In the 1960s and 70s, this was a rare opportunity for a Hungarian artist.
At the peak of her international career, she attended a performance at the New York Opera House with the recently defected Mikhail Baryshnikov, which solidified her belief that revue was her true stage. Meanwhile, Hungarian audiences came to know her through films like A veréb is madár (The Sparrow is a Bird), Az oroszlán ugrani készül (The Lion is About to Jump), and Csak semmi pánik (Just Don’t Panic).
Decades later, in the 2000s, she became a judge on the television show Szombat esti láz (Saturday Night Fever), becoming a diva for a new generation. This role underscored her enduring appeal and influence in Hungarian entertainment.
Maintaining an international career, still, came with a significant price and obstacle: the Iron Curtain.
Medveczky Ilona found a pragmatic, business-minded solution.
In 1974, she entered into a marriage of convenience with Wilhelm Alexander von Thurn und Taxis, a German prince. The union wasn’t about romance, but about freedom: Austrian citizenship and the ability to travel freely in an era when this was unattainable for most Hungarians.
“I paid a fortune for the princess title, but money didn’t matter,” she said.
The couple never lived together and officially divorced in 2004, but the title and the freedom of movement it afforded shaped her life for decades.
After the change of regime, she returned home and became a regular fixture in Hungarian society, serving as a guest of honor at the 2007 Budapest Sisi Ball, for example. State recognition followed: she was awarded the Érdemes Művész (Meritorious Artist) title in 2004, and in 2020, the public elected her as a lifetime member of the Halhatatlanok Társulatának (Immortals Society).
She still feels the absence of the highest professional honor, the Kossuth Prize. “I am a Meritorious Artist and a member of the Immortals Society – the latter of which I am particularly proud…” she told 24.hu, as reported by HOT! magazine.
Medveczky Ilona remains an active public figure today. Her biographical interview book, penned by Tamás Karizs, was released in November and immediately garnered attention. In February, a dispute arose over the financial aspects of the book when the artist expressed her dissatisfaction with receiving only 50 complimentary copies instead of a monetary honorarium. She recently gave the TV2 Tények Plusz team an exclusive look inside her home.
