Biography
Klári Tolnay (born Rózsi Tolnay; 17 July 1914 – 27 October 1998) was a Hungarian actress.
She was born in Budapest to István Tolnay and Eleonóra Siess and spent her childhood in Mohora, Nógrád county, on her father's estate. After completing elementary school there, she attended secondary school in Balassagyarmat, studied for two years at the Institutum Beatae Mariae Virginis in Nyíregyháza, and finished high school at Debrecen's School of Business. Having been involved in singing and music since childhood, she took the advice of newspaper editor János Bókay and auditioned before prominent actors Gábor Rajnai, Jenő Heltai, and Sándor Hevesi. Although these initial efforts did not yield immediate success, she was mentored by Béla Gaál, which led to her film career beginning at Hunnia Film Studio.
Her first significant role came in Meseautó, after which she was hired in 1934 by the Vígszínház theatre to perform minor parts. In 1936, she married director Ákos Ráthonyi, and they had a daughter, Zsuzsanna, in 1940. Following World War II, in 1945, Ákos Ráthonyi left Hungary; their daughter emigrated after the 1956 revolution. Between 1946 and 1947, Tolnay left Vígszínház for the Művész Theatre, where she met Iván Darvas, whom she later married and divorced in 1958. In 1947, alongside Gyula Benkő and István Somló, she became co-manager of Vígszínház, playing a key role in restoring the theatre’s pre-war prestige. After the government closed the theatre in 1950, she joined the Madách Theatre, where she remained active until her death on 27 October 1998.
