BIO

Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1905.   When Garbo was 14, her father died.   She was forced to leave school and go to work.   Her first job was as a lather girl in a barbershop.

She then became a clerk at a department store in Stockholm where she would also model for newspaper advertisements.   A local director espied her and in 1920, at the age of 15, she made her Swedish film debut.

From 1922 to 1924, she studied at the prestigious Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and continued to be seen on stage and in film.

In 1926 she was brought to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Louis B. Mayer after he saw the Swedish classic The Saga of Gösta Berling (1924).  She made her U.S. film debut in a lead role for Cosmopolitan Productions.

Garbo quickly achieved enormous success, becoming one of the greatest stars of the silent film era.   Although she maintained some of her silent film mannerisms, Garbo made an effortless transition to sound.   After her appearance in Grand Hotel (1932), which won the Outstanding Production Oscar, she signed a new contract with MGM granting her increased control over her movies.

A 1941 film, directed by George Cukor, was a critical failure and marked Garbo's last screen appearance after a career spanning 30 feature films.

Garbo received Actress Academy Award nominations for Romance (1930), Anna Christie (1930), Camille (1936) and Ninotchka (1939). She was also awarded an honorary Oscar in 1954 for “her unforgettable screen performances” although, in keeping with her publicity-shy persona, she did not appear for the awards ceremony.

Garbo gradually withdrew from the entertainment world and moved to a secluded life in New York City.   She had invested very wisely, was known to be frugal, and was consequently a very wealthy woman.

She died in New York City in 1990, at the age of 84, as a result of end stage renal disease and pneumonia.

Additional biographical information is available at:

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