SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-Zsa Zsa Gabor, the actress made even more famous for slapping a cop, could be California's next first lady.

The Hungarian-born movie and television star's ninth husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, the 67-year-old German-born socialite, wants to run for California governor.

"When I came to California 26 years ago, we had the 'good life.' We were prosperous; people had jobs, affordable homes and money to spend," he said in a statement. "The economy was great. I loved the state so much that I decided to make my home here, marry and become a citizen."

Von Anhalt, a former Republican, says he will make an independent run for governor, describing himself as a fiscal conservative and social liberal. He has a large billboard on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, announcing his interest in the race.

Among other things, the prince wants to open the U.S.-Mexico border and legalize marijuana to tax it heavily.

Von Anhalt, who still needs to file official campaign papers, would join Republicans Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in vying to succeed Austrian-born Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former two-term governor, is expected to soon announce his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Von Anhalt says he became a prince when he was adopted as an adult in 1980 by Princess Marie Auguste, daughter-in-law of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was the last emperor of Germany.

He and Gabor, 92, married in 1986.

Three years after their nuptial, Gabor was accused of slapping a Beverly Hills police officer after he stopped her for a traffic violation. She was found guilty of the assault and sentenced to three days in jail.

In 2007, von Anhalt attracted worldwide headlines when he claimed he was the biological father of the late American model Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter, Dannielynn.

Later that year, Los Angeles police officers found him naked and handcuffed to the steering wheel of a 2006 Rolls Royce. Von Anhalt told authorities that he was robbed at gunpoint of his clothes and jewelry by a group of women.

From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.