Greta Garbo Biography

Greta Garbo Greta Lovisa Gustafsson

Born: 18 September 1905 [Stockholm, Sweden]

Died: 15 April 1990 - aged 84 [New York City, U.S.]

Citizenship: Sweden (1905–1951) | United States (1951–1990)

Occupation: Actress (Years active 1920–1941)

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Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses to ever be on screen, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses to ever be on screen, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances.

Greta Garbo

After retiring, Garbo declined all opportunities to return to the screen, shunned publicity, and led a private life. She became an art collector whose collection, though containing many works of negligible value, included works from Pierre- Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard and Kees van Dongen. Garbo appears on a number of postage stamps, and in September 2005, the United States Postal Service and Swedish Posten jointly issued two commemorative stamps bearing her image. On 6 April 2011, Sveriges Riksbank announced that Garbo's portrait was to be featured on the 100-krona banknote, beginning in 2014–2015.

Career

Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent (1926). Garbo's performance in Flesh and the Devil (1927), her third movie, made her an international star. In 1928, Garbo starred in A Woman of Affairs, which catapulted her at MGM to its highest box-office star, usurping the long- reigning Lillian Gish. Other well-known Garbo films from the silent era are The Mysterious Lady (1928), The Single Standard (1929) and The Kiss (1929).

With Garbo's first sound film, Anna Christie (1930), MGM marketers enticed the public with the tagline "Garbo talks!" That same year she starred in Romance and for her performances in both films she received the first of three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. By 1932 her success allowed her to dictate the terms of her contracts and she became increasingly selective about her roles. She continued in films such as Mata Hari (1931), Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933) and Anna Karenina (1935).