Quick Facts
- NAME: Greta Garbo
- OCCUPATION: Actress, Pin-up
- BIRTH DATE: September 18, 1905
- DEATH DATE: April 15, 1990
- EDUCATION: Royal Dramatic Theater
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Stockholm, Sweden
- PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
- AKA: Greta Gustafsson
- Full Name: Greta Lovisa Garbo
- Originally: Greta Lovisa Gustafson
- Nickname: The Mona Lisa of the 20th Century
Best Known For
Greta Garbo is best known for her acting career, in both silent and talking films before World War II.
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Greta Garbo - Full Episode (44:21)
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Play NowGreta Garbo. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:48, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210.
Greta Garbo. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"Greta Garbo." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 07:48 http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210.
"Greta Garbo," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"Greta Garbo," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210 (accessed May 21, 2013).
Greta Garbo [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210.
Greta Garbo, http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210 (last visited May 21, 2013).
Greta Garbo. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/greta-garbo-9306210. Accessed May 21, 2013.
During World War II, while much of Hollywood rallied the country around the war effort, Garbo remained largely silent, which earned her criticism.
Over the last half century of her life, in fact, Garbo proved to be an ever-increasing mystery. On the advice of a friend, she invested heavily in real estate and art. At the time of her death she was estimated to be worth more than $55 million.
Eventually Garbo left California and settled into a new life in New York City,
where she loved to window shop and periodic Greta Garbo spottings were reported like UFO sightings.
Her friends during this last period of her life included the English photographer Cecil Beaton and ventriloquist and fellow Swede, Edgar Bergen.
In the late 1980s her kidneys began to fail, forcing her to stop her walks, which only further cut her off from the outside world. She died on April 15, 1990 at a New York City hospital.
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Famous Recluses 9 people in this group
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Silent Screen Stars
View groupIn the early years of motion pictures, actors were recruited from the stage, resulting in larger-than-life performances that seemed jarring when blown up to the size of a movie screen. As the years went on, actors began to understand the subtleties of the medium, and used more natural expressions to connect with their audiences. They became movie stars, known for their glamorous looks and identifiable personalities. As Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard would say, they didn't need dialogue, they had faces.
Silent Screen Stars 16 people in this group
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Honorary Oscar Recipients 81 people in this group

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