Who was Milan Kundera married to? All about his wife as acclaimed author dies aged 94

Czech-French Milan Kundera, best known for authoring 1984's romance novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, passed away on July 11 at the age of 94. The news was announced by Anna Mrazova, a representative from the Milan Kundera Library. She shared that the author died in his Paris apartment after a prolonged illness.

Kundera famously left his homeland, Czechoslovakia, in 1975, and went into exile in France after getting expelled for “anti-communist activities” from the Czechoslovakian Communist party. This happened after Kundera unveiled his debut novel, The Joke, in 1967. It captivated readers with its incisive critique of the Czechoslovak Communist regime.

Notably, Kundera delved into the inner workings of the ruling party, despite his own membership within its ranks. After leaving the country, his Czech citizenship was revoked in 1979 and he spent 40 years living in Paris, acquiring French citizenship in 1981.

There, he authored his famous book The Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1982, which was not published for two years, until 1984 when it did in French. He later began writing in French and published his first work in the language in 1995 with La Lenteur. His final work, The Festival of Insignificance, was published in 2014.

On the personal front, Milan Kundera had two wives and two daughters, who had been alongside him throughout his journey as a famed author.

---

All you need to know about Milan Kundera's wife, Vera Hrabánková, and their kids

As per news outlet GH Base, Milan Kundera first tied the knot with Opera singer Olga Haasová in 1967. Not much is known about their marriage.

After her death, he got married to Věra Hrabánková and they lived in Czechoslovakia till 1975. They were then exiled to France due to the political pressure in their motherland.

According to media outlet The Distin, Kundera and Hrabánková shared a profound connection with one another. She helped him with his work as a translator and editor, and also managed his social interactions.

In fact, it was Vera who helped him build a friendship with novelist Philip Roth. He published Milan Kundera's work as a part of his series, Writers from the Other Europe, and made him an international star.

While speaking to Roth in 1980 for a New York Times interview, Milan Kundera expressed his concern about the diminishing role of his work in contemporary society.

He ranted on the fact that, in his view, "the novel [The Unbearable Lightness of Being] has no place" in a world dominated by totalitarian ideologies, be it rooted in Marxism, Islam, or any other belief system.

“It seems to me that all over the world people nowadays prefer to judge rather than to understand, to answer rather than to ask, so that the voice of the novel can hardly be heard over the noisy foolishness of human certainties.”

Vera acted as their language mediator and in 1985, shared that she manages the calls and demands of the author.

As per TvShowStars, Milan and Vera went on to welcome two daughters into their marriage. However, the names, professions, and other details of the girls are not known.

After Milan and Vera went away from the Czech for 40 years, their citizenship was restored in 2019.