Vari was born Helen Ilona de Fabinyi in
Spišská Nová Ves on March 31, 1931, and was raised in
Hungary. She was educated in Hungary and
Austria. She met
George Vari in 1950. She fled Hungary in 1957 following the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The Varis donated generously to the restoration of
Les Invalides and donated thousands of Canadian maple trees to the
Palace of Versailles to replace those destroyed in a storm. She was also honoured with the French
Legion of Honour and served as a patron of the foreign section of the Society of Members of the Legion of Honour. She also financed a new visitor's centre at the
Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Vari died on March 16, 2023, at the age of 91. ==Honours==