- Garbo, Greta
- (1905-1990)Movie star Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden. Her work as an advertising model in a department store led to a career in film beginning with Peter the Tramp (1920). From 1922 to 1924, Garbo studied at the Royal Swedish Dramatic Theater, and she acquired her stage name and reputation as an actress in The Story of Gosta Berling (1924). Following her success in Sweden, she moved to Hollywood in 1925, where her beauty and husky voice enabled her to play roles of sexual passion. Garbo made a total of 24 films in Hollywood. Her films, in which she often played the tragic heroine, included Flesh and the Devil (1927), Love (1927), The Kiss (1929), Anna Christie (1930), Romance, (1930), Mata Hari (1932), Grand Hotel (1932), Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936), and Ninotchka (1939). The attempt to change her screen image in Two-Faced Woman in 1941 was not a success, and Garbo did not make another movie. She retired aged 36 and moved to New York City to live a secluded life. During her career, she received four Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for Anna Christie, Romance, Camille, and Ninotchka. Famous for the “Garbo mystique” that she deliberately fostered, she was given a special Oscar in 1954 for her unforgettable performances.See also Cinema.
Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era . Neil A. Wynn . 2015.