Elizabeth Berkley
American actress
Greta Garbo was a legendary Swedish-American actress who rose to fame during Hollywood’s silent and early golden eras. Known for her melancholic screen persona and tragic characters, Garbo was considered one of the greatest screen actresses of all time. She had a successful career spanning over 15 years, and was even awarded an honorary Oscar for her luminous and unforgettable performances.
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About the Greta Garbo
Greta Garbowas a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood’s silent and early golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gosta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer(1931), Grand Hotelto be her finest and the role gained her a second Academy Award nomination. However, Garbo’s career soon declined and she became one of many stars labelled box office poison in 1938. Her career revived with a turn to comedy in Ninotchka (1939), which earned her a third Academy Award nomination. Two-Faced Woman (1941), a box-office flop, was the last of her 28 films. Following this commercial failure, she continued to be offered movie roles, though she declined most of them. Those she did accept failed to materialize, either due to lack of funds or because she dropped out during filming. In 1954, Garbo was awarded an Academy Honorary Award “for her luminous and unforgettable screen performances”.
Over time, Garbo would decline all opportunities to return to the screen. In her retirement, she shunned publicity, led a private life, and became an art collector whose paintings included works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard and Kees van Dongen. Although she refused throughout her life to talk to friends about her reasons for retiring, four years before her death, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: “I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio … I really wanted to live another life.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood’s silent and early golden eras, regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time.
Greta Garbo was born on September 18, 1905.
Greta Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling, which caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925.
Some of Greta Garbo’s well-known films from the silent era include Torrent (1926), Flesh and the Devil (1926), A Woman of Affairs (1928), The Mysterious Lady (1928), The Single Standard (1929), and The Kiss (1929).
Many critics and film historians consider Greta Garbo’s performance as the doomed courtesan Marguerite Gautier in the film Camille (1936) to be her finest and the role gained her a second Academy Award nomination.
After the failure of her film Two-Faced Woman (1941), Greta Garbo retired from the screen at the age of 35 after acting in 28 films.
After retiring, Greta Garbo declined all opportunities to return to the screen, shunned publicity, and led a private life as an art collector whose paintings included works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard, and Kees van Dongen.
22 Quotes by Greta Garbo
- 1.
The story of my life is about back entrances, side doors, secret elevators and other ways of getting in and out of places so that people won’t bother me.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 2.
You don’t have to be married to have a good friend as your partner for life.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 3.
Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 4.
I smoke all the time, one after the other.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 5.
Is there anything better than to be longing for something, when you know it is within reach?
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 6.
Your joys and sorrows. You can never tell them. You cheapen the inside of yourself if you do tell them.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 7.
I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be left alone.’ There is all the difference.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 8.
If you are blessed, you are blessed, whether you are married or single.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 9.
If only those who dream about Hollywood knew how difficult it all is.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 10.
I want to be alone.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 11.
I wish I were supernaturally strong so I could put right everything that is wrong.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 12.
There are some who want to get married and others who don’t. I have never had an impulse to go to the altar. I am a difficult person to lead.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 13.
This is where I have wasted the best years of my life.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 14.
Being a movie star, and this applies to all of them, means being looked at from every possible direction. You are never left at peace, you’re just fair game.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 15.
My talents fall within definite limitations. I am not as versatile an actress as some think.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 16.
Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 17.
There seems to be a law that governs all our actions so I never make plans.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 18.
There are many things in your heart you can never tell to another person. They are you, your private joys and sorrows, and you can never tell them. You cheapen yourself, the inside of yourself, when you tell them.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 19.
It is bitter to think of one’s best years disappearing in this unpolished country.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 20.
I don’t want to be a silly temptress. I cannot see any sense in getting dressed up and doing nothing but tempting men in pictures.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 21.
There is no one who would have me – I can’t cook.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)
- 22.
I’m tired and nervous and I’m in America. Here you don’t know that you live.
Greta GarboSwedish-American actress (1905-1990)