Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo (1905-1990), Swedish-American motion-picture actor, noted for her beauty and her reticence, who became a virtual recluse while still at the height of her popularity. Born Greta Gustaffson in Stockholm, she was educated at the Royal Dramatic Theater's school of acting. Following her discovery by director Mauritz Stiller and her successful debut performance as the Countess Elizabeth Dohna in the Swedish film The Atonement of Gosta Berling (1924), Garbo accompanied her director, who had been hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios, to the United States. Stiller worked to get her a contract as well, and she was eventually given the lead role in her first American film, The Torrent (1926). A great success, it was followed by The Temptress (1926) and Flesh and the Devil (1927), which established Garbo as one of the most popular film stars of the time. Her first sound picture was Anna Christie (1930), based on the play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill. Other film appearances by Garbo include superb performances in Susan Lennox—Her Fall and Rise (1931; with Clark Gable), Grand Hotel (1932), Mata Hari (1932), Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1937), and Ninotchka (1939). After completing the unsuccessful comedy Two-Faced Woman (1941), she gradually withdrew into an isolated retirement. In 1950 Garbo was chosen the best actress of the half-century in a poll conducted by the theatrical newspaper Variety. She became a U.S. citizen in 1951, and in 1954 she received (in absentia) a special Academy Award for “her unforgettable screen performances.”