Bella Darvi (born Bajla Węgier; 23 October 1928 – 11 September 1971) was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States. Biography Early life Darvi was born Bajla Węgier to Jewish parents Chajm Węgier, a baker, and his wife, Chaja (née Zygelbaum). She had three brothers, Robert, Jacques, and Jean-Isidore, and a sister, Sura. When the Germans invaded France during World War Two, Darvi's mother fled to southern France with her sister and two brothers. Darvi decided to stay in Paris for her education along with her brother Robert. Both were eventually jailed by the Vichy government due to their Polish background. She was fifteen years old. Robert died in a concentration camp. "I had the usual experiences of hunger and humiliation, and I try not to think of them and discuss them but I can never forget them," she later said. Darvi's mother secured her release after three years, in 1943. She went to stay with her mother near Toulouse. "We were always under threat on account of us being Polish," she said. She married a businessman, Alban Cavalcade, on October 7, 1950 and traveled with him to Monaco. Darryl and Virginia Zanuck While on the French Riviera she became associated with Virginia and Darryl Zanuck. She was separated from Cavalcade at the time. The Zanucks invited her to come to Los Angeles and in 1952 she moved there to live with them. She shared a room with Zanuck's second daughter, Susan. She changed her name to Bella Darvi, Darvi being a combination of the first names of Zanuck and his wife, Virginia. She took acting lessons. In February 1953 it was announced she had signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. Hedda Hopper called her "an exciting new personality". Eventually, she became Zanuck's mistress, although she reportedly dated other men including Robert Stack and Brad Dexter. Hollywood career She was Richard Widmark's love interest in Sam Fuller's film Hell and High Water (1954) which started filming in April 1953. She was injured during filming when knocked over. In March 1953 Leonard Goldstein was reportedly writing The Daughter of Mata Hari as a vehicle for her. In December 1953 she was announced for the role of Nefer, the seductive Babylonian courtesan, in The Egyptian (1954) over Ava Gardner. Hedda Hopper predicted Darvi would be one of the "stars of 1954"