Brody was born in Budapest, Hungary, on January 28, 1933. His father, János Bródy, raced horses and traded grain commodities in the period encompassing the two world wars. His mother, Lilly Bródy née Pollatschek, was a painter. He was a nephew of journalist Iles Brody and writer Sándor Hunyady. The family slowly rose into the upper class. Artists and scientists frequented the house, among them Nobel laureate physicist Dennis Gabor, the inventor of the krypton-filled fluorescent lamp, Imre Bródy, actress Gizi Bajor and film actor Csortos Gula.
