Mari Jászai 24 February 1850 in Ászár, Komárom county, as a daughter of a carpenter. She worked from age 10 as a maidservant, both in Budapest and Vienna, assisting soldiers as a "sutling wench" in the Battle of Königgrätz. In 1866, aged 16, she fled to the touring company of "Gusztáv Hubay" in Székesfehérvár, and began to work as an extra. By 1867 she already acted on stages of Buda, and from 1868, in the theatre of Cluj-Napoca. She met her first husband, comedian "Vidor Kassai" during her time in Buda, whom she divorced two years later, never marrying again. Jászai became a member of the National Theatre in 1872, where she remained until her death (except for the 1900 season, working in Vígszínház theatre).