María Corda (born Mária Antónia Farkas; May 4, 1898 – February 15, 1976) was a Hungarian actress and a star of the silent film era in Germany and Austria.
In the late 1920s, Corda was transitioning from being a “queen” of European silent cinema to a high-profile, though ultimately short-lived, Hollywood star. Her career during this period was defined by epic spectacles and a significant move to the United States alongside her husband, director Alexander Korda.
In 1926, she and her husband, director Alexander Korda, moved from Berlin to Beverly Hills after she signed a contract with First National. The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927) was her most notable Hollywood production, but it failed to achieve significant success. Like many silent stars, her career ended abruptly in 1928 with the arrival of sound films. Her limited English and heavy accent made it difficult for her to transition to “talkies.”
By the end of the decade, her marriage to Alexander Korda, which had been “tempestuous for many years,” officially ended in divorce when their contracts were up in California.
Corda was often marketed as the “Hungarian Garbo” due to her striking blonde looks and regal screen presence. In the late 1920s, she was a fixture of fashion and film magazines like Photoplay, celebrated for her “art deco” glamour and her roles in sweeping historical epics.
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