Iren Ágay
Born: February 23, 1912, in Budapest, Hungary
Claimed her birth was a sign of a theatrical career
Begins acting as a child, working with the Terézkörút Stage and the Vig Theatre in Budapest
Graduated from the Actors Association school of drama
By 20, she was playing leading roles in Budapest
Had great success in the play Emmy, but critics were not pleased with her Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra
In 1933, director István Székely (later Steve Sekely and Ágay's husband) attended a play to evaluate an actor for his upcoming film Iza néni, and was impressed with Ágay's performance
Cast her in the film, which began a long association with her as actress and consultant
Married István Székely (later Steve Sekely) in October, 1933, and made a total of 14 films together
Continued to work on the stage as well, with Székely doing his best to accommodate her film schedule to her stage obligations
Appeared in musicals, both on stage and in film
Played roles in more than one version of some of her films, speaking the language of each
Invited to tour the United States with some of her films in 1937
Arrived in Hollywood, championed by Hungarian expatriates such as Bela Lugosi, Paul Lukas, and Joe Pasternak
Failed to arrange properly their visas, and were told they would have to leave the U.S. for a period of time and then return with the proper visas before they could work in the States
Went to Mexico in early 1938, and Székely returned to the U.S. almost immediately
Allowed to join Székely in the U.S. by mid-year, but found work in films almost impossible to obtain
Found work only in the theatre, touring for a time in the play Don't Mention It
Desired to be of use to the war effort and volunteered as an ambulance driver
A routine health examination revealed dangerous hypertension, which began to diminish her eyesight
Played a role in her husband's American comedy The Great Suzanne in 1946, and served as associate producer on his film Amazon Quest (1949)
Went with her husband to Mexico to film a role in his production Stronghold (1951),but her chronic illness became severe and she was forced to leave the production
Returned to their home in Hollywood, where her vision became worse until she was completely blind
Died at the age of 38 on September 3, 1950
