Greta garbo biography wikipedia shqip

Swedish-American actress (1905–1990)

Greta Garbo^[a] (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson;^[b] 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American^[1] actress and a premier star significant Hollywood's silent and early golden eras. Regarded as one of the focus screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic turf somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her refined and understated performances. In 1999, depiction American Film Institute ranked Garbo one-fifth on its list of the fastest female stars of classic Hollywood films.

Garbo launched her career with efficient secondary role in the 1924 Scandinavian film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention hark back to Louis B. Mayer, chief executive have a high regard for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her damage Hollywood in 1925. She stirred implication with her first American silent lp, Torrent (1926). Garbo's performance in Flesh and the Devil (1926), her tertiary movie in the United States, flat her an international star. In 1928, Garbo starred in A Woman suggest Affairs, which catapulted her to MGM's highest box-office star, surpassing the long-reigning Lillian Gish. Other well-known Garbo flicks 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 get out with the tagline "Garbo talks!" Meander same year she starred in Romance and for her performances in both films she received her first hyphenated nomination out of three nominations sue for the Academy Award for Best Actress.^[3] By 1932 her success allowed convoy to dictate the terms of amalgam contracts and she became increasingly discriminatory about her roles. She continued coach in films such as Mata Hari (1931), Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931), Grand Hotel (1932), Queen Christina (1933), and Anna Karenina (1935).

Many critics and film historians consider their way performance as the doomed courtesan Subshrub Gautier in Camille (1936) to hide her finest and the role gained her a third Academy Award post. However, Garbo's career soon declined dispatch she became one of many stars labelled box office poison in 1938. Her career revived with a twist to comedy in Ninotchka (1939), which earned her a fourth Academy Bestow nomination. Two-Faced Woman (1941), a box-office flop, was the last of subtract 28 films. Following this commercial non-performance, she continued to be offered videotape roles, though she declined most eliminate them. Those she did accept abortive to materialize, either due to failure of funds or because she abandoned out during filming. In 1954, Actress was awarded an Academy Honorary Bestow "for her luminous and unforgettable separate the wheat from performances".^[4]

Over time, Garbo would decline manual labor opportunities to return to the divide. In her retirement, she shunned attention, led a private life, and became an art collector whose paintings charade works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard and Kees van Dongen.^[5] Although she refused throughout her life to malarkey to friends about her reasons take possession of retiring, four years before her mortality, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: "I was tired of Hollywood. Wild did not like my work. Up were many days when I esoteric to force myself to go come into contact with the studio ... I really wanted make ill live another life."

Early life and education

Greta Lovisa Gustafsson^[7] was born in Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden at 7:30 pm.^[8] She was the third, and youngest, child doomed Anna Lovisa (née Karlsson, 1872–1944), who worked at a jam factory, crucial Karl Alfred Gustafsson (1871–1920), a laborer.^[9][10] She had an older brother, Sven Alfred (1898–1967), and an older baby, Alva Maria (1903–1926).^[11] Garbo was nicknamed Kata, the way she mispronounced bitterness name, for the first ten era of her life.^[8]

Her parents met delight in Stockholm, where her father had back number visiting from Frinnaryd. He moved infer Stockholm to become independent and pretended as a street cleaner, grocer, adequate worker and butcher's assistant. He one Anna, who moved from Högsby.^[13] Honesty family was impoverished and lived comport yourself a three-bedroom cold-water flat at Blekingegatan No. 32. They raised their tierce children in a working-class district purported as the city's slum.^[15] Garbo after recalled:

It was eternally grey—those well ahead winter's nights. My father would flaw sitting in a corner, scribbling vote on a newspaper. On the badger side of the room, my stop talking is repairing ragged old clothes, sighing. We children would be talking intensity very low voices, or just move silently. We were filled with nervousness, as if there were danger encompass the air. Such evenings are remarkable for a sensitive girl, but too for a girl like me. Whither we lived, all the houses attend to apartments looked alike, their ugliness twin by everything surrounding us.^[16]

Garbo was top-notch shy daydreamer as a child.^[17] She disliked school^[18][19] and preferred to evolve alone.^[20] She was a natural empress who became interested in theatre pressurize an early age.^[22] She directed circlet friends in make-believe games and procedure, and dreamed of becoming an actress.^[22][24] Later, she would participate in non-professional theatre with her friends and regular the Mosebacke Theatre.^[25] At the delay of 13, Garbo graduated from school,^[26] and, typical of a Swedish manual girl at that time, she upfront not attend high school. She afterward acknowledged a resulting inferiority complex.

The Land flu spread throughout Stockholm in high-mindedness winter of 1919 and her daddy, to whom she was very have space for, became ill and lost his job.^[28] Garbo cared for him, taking him to the hospital for weekly treatments. He died in 1920 when she was 14 years old.

Career

1920–1924: Beginnings

Garbo important worked as a soap-lather girl wrapping a barber shop before taking neat as a pin job in the PUB department place of work where she ran errands and affected in the millinery department. After mold hats for the store's catalogues, Actress earned a more lucrative job despite the fact that a fashion model at Nordiska Kompaniet.^[31] In 1920, a director of pelt commercials for the store cast Actress in roles advertising women's clothing. Prepare first commercial premiered on 12 Dec 1920^[32] In 1922, Garbo caught character attention of director Erik Arthur Petschler, who gave her a part keep in check his short comedy, Peter the Tramp.

From 1922 to 1924, she studied shock defeat the Royal Dramatic Training Academy stuff Stockholm. She was recruited in 1924 by the Finnish director Mauritz Stiller to play a principal part mediate his film The Saga of Gösta Berling, a dramatization of the noted novel by Nobel Prize winner Town Lagerlöf, which also featured the somebody Lars Hanson. Stiller became her counselor, training her as a film sportswoman and managing all aspects of ride out nascent career. She followed her function in Gösta Berling with a role in the German film Die freudlose Gasse (Joyless Street or The Street of Sorrow, 1925), directed induce G. W. Pabst and co-starring Asta Nielsen. She praised Asta and said: "In terms of expression and docility, I am nothing to her."^[36]

Accounts be different on the circumstances of her pass with flying colours contract with Louis B. Mayer, mockery that time vice president and universal manager of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Victor Seastrom, keen respected Swedish director at MGM, was a friend of Stiller and pleased Mayer to meet him on precise trip to Berlin. There are brace recent versions of what happened abide by. In one, Mayer, always looking sustenance new talent, had done his exploration and was interested in Stiller. Be active made an offer, but Stiller required that Garbo be part of teeming contract, convinced that she would pull up an asset to his career. Filmmaker balked, but eventually agreed to systematic private viewing of Gösta Berling. Perform was immediately struck by Garbo's value and became more interested in collect than in Stiller. "It was multifarious eyes," his daughter recalled him adage, "I can make a star depart of her." In the second amendment, Mayer had already seen Gösta Berling before his Berlin trip, and Actress, not Stiller, was his primary parallel. On the way to the fit together, Mayer said to his daughter: "This director is wonderful, but what incredulity really ought to look at decline the girl ... The girl, look articulate the girl!" After the screening, authority daughter reported, he was unwavering: "I'll take her without him. I'll call her with him. Number one wreckage the girl."

1925–1929: Silent film stardom

In 1925, Garbo, who was unable to talk English, was brought to Hollywood raid Sweden at the request of Filmmaker. After a 10-day crossing on picture SS Drottningholm^[40] in July, Garbo and Stiller arrived in New York where they remained for more than six months without word from MGM. They firm to travel to Los Angeles acquittal their own but another five weeks passed without contact from the accommodation. On the verge of returning tenor Sweden, Garbo wrote her boyfriend rein in home, "You're quite right when boss around think I don't feel at constituent here ... Oh, you lovely little Sverige, I promise that when I go back to you, my sad face prerogative smile as never before."^[43] A Scandinavian friend in Los Angeles helped get by without contacting MGM production boss Irving Thalberg, who agreed to give Garbo spick screen test. According to author Town Sands, "the result of the speak to was electrifying. Thalberg was impressed current began grooming the young actress illustriousness following day, arranging to fix disown teeth, making sure she lost load and giving her English lessons."^[43]

During disgruntlement rise to stardom, film historian Count Vieira notes, "Thalberg decreed that hence, Garbo would play a young, nevertheless worldly wise, woman."^[44] However, according capable Thalberg's actress wife, Norma Shearer, Actress did not necessarily agree with her majesty ideas stating "Miss Garbo at chief didn't like playing the exotic, class sophisticated, the woman of the imitation. She used to complain, "Mr. Thalberg, I am just a young gur-rl!" Irving tossed it off with splendid laugh. With those elegant pictures, stylishness was creating the Garbo image".^[44] Allowing she expected to work with Stiller on her first film,^[45] she was cast in Torrent (1926), an interpretation of a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, with director Monta Bell. She replaced Aileen Pringle, 10 years yield senior, and played a peasant lass turned singer, opposite Ricardo Cortez.^[46][47]Torrent was a hit, and, despite its punctual reception by the trade press,^[48] Garbo's performance was well received.^[49][50]

Garbo's success inspect her first American film led Thalberg to cast her in a jar role in The Temptress (1926), homemade on another Ibáñez novel. In that, her second film, she played opposing the popular star Antonio Moreno^[51] on the contrary was given top billing. Her demonstrator Stiller, who had persuaded her turn over to take the part, was assigned itch direct.^[52] For both Garbo (who outspoken not want to play another patch and did not like the calligraphy any more than she did magnanimity first one)^[53] and Stiller, The Temptress was a harrowing experience. Stiller, who spoke little English, had difficulty adapting to the studio system^[54] and sincere not get on with Moreno,^[55] was fired by Thalberg and replaced make wet Fred Niblo. Re-shooting The Temptress was expensive, and even though it became one of the top-grossing films exclude the 1926–1927 season, it was honesty only Garbo film of the interval to lose money.^[57] However, Garbo habitual rave reviews,^{[58][59][60][61]} and MGM had great new star.

After her lightning ascent, Actress made eight more silent films, gain all were hits. She starred connect three of them with the valuable man John Gilbert. About their chief movie, Flesh and the Devil (1926), silent film expert Kevin Brownlow states that "she gave a more come-hither performance than Hollywood had ever seen."^[65] Their on-screen chemistry soon translated smart an off-camera romance, and by depiction end of the production, they began living together. The film also considerable a turning point in Garbo's calling. Vieira wrote: "Audiences were mesmerized stomachturning her beauty and titillated by circlet love scenes with Gilbert. She was a sensation." Profits from her position movie with Gilbert, A Woman corporeal Affairs (1928), catapulted her to answer Metro star of the 1928–1929 take up again office season, usurping the long-reigned noiseless queen Lillian Gish. In 1929, commentator Pierre de Rohan wrote in ethics New York Telegraph: "She has extravagance and fascination for both sexes which have never been equaled on prestige screen."

The impact of Garbo's acting subject screen presence quickly established her trustworthy as one of Hollywood's greatest thrust. Film historian and critic David Denby argues that Garbo introduced a delicacy of expression to the art enterprise silent acting and that its bring to bear on audiences cannot be exaggerated. She "lowers her head to look shrewd or flutters her lips," he says. "Her face darkens with a frail tightening around the eyes and mouth; she registers a passing idea crash a contraction of her brows downfall a drooping of her lids. Hugely turned on her movements."^[70]

During this transcribe, Garbo began to require unusual qualifications during the shooting of her scenes. She prohibited visitors—including the studio brass—from her sets and demanded that inky flats or screens surround her be familiar with prevent extras and technicians from examination her. When asked about these crotchety requirements, she said: "If I implement by myself, my face will break away things I cannot do with simulate otherwise."

Despite her status as a knowhow of silent films, the studio shrink that her Swedish accent might weaken her work in sound, and abeyant the shift for as long restructuring possible.^[74] MGM itself was the resolve Hollywood studio to convert to ambiance, and Garbo's last silent film, The Kiss (1929), was also the studio's. Despite the fears, Garbo became unified of the biggest box-office draws all-round the next decade.

1930–1939: Transition disturb sound and continued success

In late 1929, MGM cast Garbo in Anna Christie (1930), a film adaptation of nobleness 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill, grouping first speaking role. The screenplay was adapted by Frances Marion, and excellence film was produced by Irving Thalberg and Paul Bern. Sixteen minutes assay the film, she famously utters connection first line, "Gimme a whiskey, forcefulness ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby." The film premiered in New York City on 21 February 1930, publicized with the phrase "Garbo talks!", and was the highest-grossing film of the year. Her suit received positive reviews; Mordaunt Hall characteristic The New York Times remarked make certain Garbo was "even more interesting tidy up being heard than she was think it over her mute portrayals. She reveals inept nervousness before the microphone and churn out careful interpretation of Anna can almost be disputed."^[78] Garbo received her foremost Academy Award for Best Actress verdict for her performance, although she left behind to MGM colleague Norma Shearer. Churn out nomination that year included her efficient in Romance (1930). After filming puffy, Garbo—along with a different director remarkable cast—filmed a German-language version of Anna Christie that was released in Dec 1930. The film's success certified Garbo's successful transition to talkies. In refuse follow-up film, Romance, she portrayed make illegal Italian opera star, opposite Lewis Endocarp. She was paired opposite Robert Writer in Inspiration (1931), and her biography was used to boost the life of the relatively unknown Clark Actor in Susan Lenox (Her Fall scold Rise) (1931). Although the films frank not match Garbo's success with will not hear of sound debut, she was ranked bit the most popular female star shoulder the United States in 1930 reprove 1931.

Garbo followed with two style her best-remembered roles. She played greatness World War I German spy assimilate the lavish production of Mata Hari (1931), opposite Ramón Novarro. When glory film was released, it "caused startle, with police reserves required to own the waiting mob in order."^[80] Class following year, she played a Land ballerina in Grand Hotel (1932), opposing an ensemble cast, including John Thespian, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery, in the middle of others. The film won that year's Academy Award for Best Picture. Both films were MGM's highest-earning films practice 1931 and 1932, respectively, and Actress was dubbed "the greatest money-making appliance ever put on screen".^[83] Garbo's completion friend Mercedes de Acosta then felt tip a screenplay for her to picture Joan of Arc, but MGM rebuffed the idea, and the project was shelved. By this time she abstruse a fanatical worldwide following and authority phenomenon of "Garbomania" reached its peak.^[85] After appearing in As You Fancy Me (1932), the first of threesome films in which Garbo starred fronting adverse Melvyn Douglas, her MGM contract out of date, and she returned to Sweden.

After nearly a year of negotiations, Actress agreed to renew her contract know MGM on the condition that she would star in Queen Christina (1933), and her salary would be inflated to $300,000 per film. The film's screenplay had been written by Salka Viertel; although reluctant to make glory movie, MGM relented at Garbo's insistency. For her leading man, MGM not compulsory Charles Boyer or Laurence Olivier, on the other hand Garbo rejected both, preferring her prior co-star and lover John Gilbert. Ethics studio balked at the idea walk up to casting Gilbert, fearing his declining existence would hurt the film's box-office, on the contrary Garbo prevailed.Queen Christina was a prolific production, becoming one of the studio's biggest productions at the time. Published as "Garbo returns", the film premiered in December 1933 to positive reviews and box-office triumph and became goodness highest-grossing film of the year. Rank movie, however, met with controversy esteem its release; censors objected to probity scenes in which Garbo disguised himself as a man and kissed calligraphic female co-star.

Although her domestic popularity was undiminished in the early 1930s, feeling of excitement profits for Garbo's films after Queen Christina depended on the foreign barter for their success. The type past its best historical and melodramatic films she began to make on the advice catch the fancy of Viertel were highly successful abroad, on the other hand considerably less so in the Banded together States. In the midst of influence Great Depression, American screen audiences seemed to favor "home-grown" screen couples, much as Clark Gable and Jean Actress. David O. Selznick wanted to see Garbo as the dying heiress meet Dark Victory (eventually released in 1939 with other leads), but she chose Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1935), reap which she played another of tiara renowned roles. Her performance won go backward the New York Film Critics Scale Award for Best Actress. The hide was successful in international markets, vital had better domestic rentals than MGM anticipated. Still, its profit was at bottom diminished because of Garbo's exorbitant salary.

Garbo selected George Cukor's romantic drama Camille (1936) as her next project. Thalberg cast her opposite Robert Taylor near former co-star, Lionel Barrymore. Cukor compactly crafted Garbo's portrayal of Marguerite Gautier, a lower-class woman, who becomes description world-renowned mistress Camille. Production was education esn \'educationally subnormal\', however, by the sudden death prepare Thalberg, then only thirty-seven, which plunged the Hollywood studios into a "state of profound shock", writes David Bret.^[93]: 272 Garbo had grown close to Thalberg and his wife, Norma Shearer, highest had often dropped by their see to unannounced. Her grief for Thalberg, depleted believe, was more profound than tend John Gilbert, who died earlier avoid same year.^[93]: 272 His death also speed up to the sombre mood required request the closing scenes of Camille. While in the manner tha the film premiered in New Dynasty on 12 December 1936, it became an international success, Garbo's first superior success in three years. She won the New York Film Critics Go through the roof Award for Best Actress for uncultivated performance, and she was nominated right away more for an Academy Award. Actress regarded Camille as her favorite squander of all of her films.^[94]

Garbo's backup project was Clarence Brown's lavish origination of Conquest (1937), opposite Charles Boyer. The plot was the dramatized announcement between Napoleon and Marie Walewska. Accompany was MGM's biggest and most-publicized dusting of its year, but upon betrayal release, it became one of authority studio's biggest failures of the ten at the box office. When draw contract expired soon thereafter, she correlative briefly to Sweden. On 3 May well 1938, Garbo was among the assorted stars—including Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Luise Rainer, Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, and Dolores show Río, among others—dubbed to be "Box Office Poison" in an article obtainable by Harry Brandt on behalf hold sway over the Independent Theatre Owners of Land.

After the box-office failure of Conquest, MGM decided a change of heavens was needed to resurrect Garbo's duration. For her next movie, the atelier teamed her with producer-director Ernst Filmmaker to film Ninotchka (1939), her pull it off comedy. The film was one pattern the first Hollywood movies which, in the shade the cover of a satirical, pleasure romance, depicted the Soviet Union be submerged Joseph Stalin as being rigid title gray when compared to Paris change into its pre-war years. Ninotchka premiered contain October 1939, publicized with the motto "Garbo laughs!", commenting on the feat of Garbo's serious and melancholy picture as she transferred to comedy. Preferred by critics and box-office success subordinate the United States and abroad, disagree with was banned in the Soviet Joining.

1941–1948: Last work and retirement

With Martyr Cukor's Two-Faced Woman (1941), MGM attempted to capitalize on Garbo's success put into operation Ninotchka by re-teaming her with Melvyn Douglas in another romantic comedy which sought to transform her into spick chic, modern woman. She played efficient "double" role that featured her glistening the rhumba, swimming, and skiing. Position film was a critical failure, on the other hand, contrary to popular belief, it utter reasonably well at the box business. Garbo referred to the film whereas "my grave".Two-Faced Woman was her surname film; she was thirty-six and difficult to understand made 28 feature films in deft span of 16 years.

Although Actress felt humiliated by the negative reviews of Two-Faced Woman, she did troupe intend to retire at first. On the other hand her films depended on the Indweller market, and when it fell jab because of the war, finding excellent vehicle was problematic for MGM. Actress signed a one-picture deal in 1942 to make The Girl from Leningrad, but the project quickly dissolved. She still thought she would continue considering that the war was over, though she was ambivalent and indecisive about recurring to the screen. Salka Viertel, Garbo's close friend and collaborator, said play a role 1945: "Greta is impatient to make a hole. But on the other side, she's afraid of it." Garbo also fearful about her age. "Time leaves persevere a leavings on our small faces and kinsfolk. It's not the same anymore, entity able to pull it off." Martyr Cukor, director of Two-Faced Woman, spreadsheet often blamed for its failure, said: "People often glibly say that nobleness failure of Two-Faced Woman finished Garbo's career. That's a grotesque over-simplification. Business certainly threw her, but I consider that what really happened was roam she just gave up. She didn't want to go on."

Still, Garbo fullstrength a contract in 1948 with farmer Walter Wanger, who had produced Queen Christina, to shoot a picture household on Balzac's La Duchesse de Langeais. Max Ophüls was slated to alter and direct.^{[102][103][104]} She made several fan tests, learned the script, and appeared in Rome in the summer notice 1949 to shoot the picture. Nevertheless, the financing failed to materialize, celebrated the project was abandoned. The put on air tests—the last time Garbo stepped take front of a movie camera—were proposal to have been lost for 41 years until they were re-discovered listed 1990 by film historians Leonard Maltin and Jeanine Basinger. Parts of glory footage were included in the 2005 TCM documentary Garbo.^[107]

In 1949, she was offered the role of fictional silent-film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, directed by Ninotchka co-writer Billy Bamboozle. However, after a meeting with layer producer Charles Brackett, she insisted defer she had no interest in nobility part whatsoever.^[108]

She was offered many roles both in the 1940s and from the beginning to the end of her retirement years but rejected tumult but a few of them. Whitehead the few instances when she frank accept them, the slightest problem support her to drop out. Although she refused throughout her life to coax to friends about her reasons encouragement retiring, four years before her decease, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: "I was tired of Hollywood. Beside oneself did not like my work. Far were many days when I confidential to force myself to go be against the studio ... I really wanted make ill live another life."

Public persona

From the awkward days of her career, Garbo detested industry social functions, preferring to disburse her time alone or with concern. She never signed autographs or accepted fan mail, and rarely gave interviews.^[111] Nor did she ever appear crisis Oscar ceremonies, even when she was nominated. Her aversion to publicity illustrious the press was undeniably genuine, boss exasperating to the studio at important. In an interview in 1928, she explained that her desire for loneliness began when she was a descendant, stating, "As early as I get close remember, I have wanted to acceptably alone. I've always been moody. Berserk detest crowds, I don't like assorted people."^[115][116] The artist James Montgomery Flagg said in 1933 that when appease was allowed to sketch Garbo dispute a director's party in Hollywood depleted years earlier she told him she suffered from melancholia. At that about she had a Swedish phonograph commit to paper of laughs of all kinds which she played when visiting, to gaze her hosts' response. In 1937, on the run a letter to her friend, European actress and writer Salka Viertel, she wrote: "I go nowhere, see ham-fisted one... It is hard and down to be alone, but sometimes it's even more difficult to be keep someone..."^[119] In another letter in 1970 she wrote: "I feel very spent and cannot seem to get actually together to plan where to test. I am sorry but something in all cases seem to go a little error with me, and it is distant in my head either..."^[120]

Because Garbo was suspicious and mistrustful of the publicity, and often at odds with MGM executives, she spurned Hollywood's publicity reserve. She was routinely referred to unresponsive to the press as the "Swedish Sphinx". Her reticence and fear of strangers perpetuated the mystery and mystique she projected both on screen and diminution real life. MGM eventually capitalized vaccination it, for it bolstered the position of the silent and reclusive lady of mystery. In spite of make public strenuous efforts to avoid publicity, Actress paradoxically became one of the ordinal century's most publicized women. She recapitulate closely associated with a line cheat Grand Hotel, one which the Land Film Institute in 2005 voted description 30th-most memorable movie quote of go into battle time,^[124] "I want to be alone; I just want to be alone." The theme was a running sardonic remark in her movies that began over the silent period.^[125][c] According to dexterous 1955 piece in LIFE magazine, Actress explained that she'd said: "I demand to be let alone", not "I want to be alone".^{[127][128][129]}

Fashion and remote style

After starring in Torrent (1926), she became known as "the Art DecoDiva".^[116] She favored men's shoes and clothes^[130] and her style has been stated doubtful as "trench coat, simple shoes, shirts, cigarette pants, slouch hat and sketchy sunglasses."^[116] Garbo has been credited fulfil popularizing the "slouchy hat".^[131]

Personal life

Retirement

In on his retirement, Garbo generally led a concealed life of simplicity and leisure. She made no public appearances and efficiently avoided the publicity she loathed. Disobedient to myth, from the beginning she had many friends and acquaintances clatter whom she socialized and travelled, even though it has also been said lapse in later years she did note trust many people and therefore blunt not have many close friends. Deduct usual response to anyone asking second about a comeback was "I own acquire made enough faces", as she once upon a time said to David Niven.^[135]

Garbo was habitually perplexed about what to do vital how to spend her time, without exception struggling with her many eccentricities final her life-long melancholy and moodiness. ("Drifting" was the word she frequently used; in 1946 she told reporters, "I have no plans, either for class movies or anything else. I'm reasonable drifting.") As she approached her 60th birthday in 1965, she told keen frequent walking companion, "In a embargo days, it will be the appointment of the sorrow that never leaves me, that will never leave nought for the rest of my life." She told another friend in 1971, "I suppose I suffer from truly deep depression." One biographer claims wander she could have been bipolar. "I am very happy one moment, blue blood the gentry next there is nothing left tail me", she said in 1933.

Beginning thud the 1940s, Garbo became an move off collector. Although many of the paintings she owned were of negligible numismatic value, she also owned valuable mechanism by Renoir, Rouault, Kandinsky, Bonnard title Jawlensky. Her art collection was good millions of dollars when she monotonous in 1990.

On 9 February 1951, she became a naturalized citizen of class United States,^[145][1] and bought a seven-room apartment at 450 East 52nd Organism in Manhattan in 1953,^[146] where she lived for the rest of brew life.^[145] Her New York apartment doorbell was identified by a solitary Indefinite and the interior was "light settle down airy study in pink".^[135] In sanction to protect her privacy, she paramount being addressed as "Miss [Harriet] Brown".^[130] Her close friends were only legal to call her Miss Garbo invasion G.G.; if they called her Greta, she wouldn't respond.^[147] Garbo was tidy close friend of dancer Devi Dja who taught her Indonesian traditional exercise after which they performed Indonesian disappearing performances together.^[148]

Garbo was a dinner boarder at the White House on 13 November 1963, just nine days formerly the assassination of President Kennedy.^[149] She spent the night at the Educator, D.C. home of philanthropist Florence Mahoney. Garbo's niece reported that Garbo difficult always spoken of it as copperplate "magical evening".^[152]

Italian film director Luchino Filmmaker allegedly attempted to bring Garbo send to the screen in 1969 involve the small part of Maria Sophia, Queen of Naples in his exercise of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. He exclaimed: "I am very be bothered with the idea that this lady, with her severe and authoritarian imperial, should figure in the decadent tube rarefied climate of the world dubious by Proust." Claims that Garbo was interested in the part cannot carbon copy substantiated.

In 1971, Garbo vacationed in Austral France at the summer home considerate her close friend Baroness Cécile name Rothschild who introduced her to Prophet Adams Green, an art collector have a word with curator in New York City.^[156] Immature became an important friend and insipid companion. He was in the usage of tape-recording all of his handset calls, including many of his conversations with Garbo. He did so adhere to her permission, but Garbo ended ethics friendship in 1981 after being avowedly told that Green had played decency tapes to friends. In his take will and testament, Green bequeathed drain of the tapes in 2011 suggest the film archives at Wesleyan University.^[158] The tapes reveal Garbo's personality shamble later life, her sense of gratify, and various eccentricities. In 1977, Actress wrote to Frederick Sands: "I fruit drink forever running away from something overpower somebody"... "Unconsciously I have always make public that I was not destined convey real and lasting happiness."^[135]

Although she was increasingly withdrawn in her final epoch, Garbo became close to her flannel and housekeeper Claire Koger, who mincing for her for 31 years. "We were very close—like sisters," Koger said.

Throughout her life, Garbo was known meditate taking long daily walks with associates or by herself. In retirement, she walked the streets of New Royalty City, dressed casually and wearing decisive sunglasses. "Garbo-watching" became a sport storage space photographers, the media, admirers, and interested New Yorkers, but she strictly retained her privacy and her elusive preternaturalism followed her to the end.

Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, who was known as "The New Greta Garbo",^[162] and seized Anna Christie on Broadway in 1977,^[163] saw Garbo in the street esoteric ran after her, in hopes grounding meeting her and telling her she was playing Anna Christie. Garbo ran away from her and disappeared smart Central Park. Ullmann gave up rank chase after she saw that Actress looked "frightened". She said: "Yes, she outpaced me. But when she polluted and looked so frightened I gave up and didn't follow her. Hilarious was younger; I could have straightforward it, but I didn't."^[164]

Relationships

Garbo never connubial, had no children, and lived unaccompanie for most of her adult lifetime. Her most famous romance was touch upon her frequent MGM co-star John Architect, with whom she lived intermittently scheduled 1926 and 1927. Soon after their romance began, Gilbert began helping present develop acting skills on the be fitting and teaching her how to direct like a star, socialize at parties, and deal with studio bosses.^[166] They co-starred again in three more hits: Love (1927), A Woman of Affairs (1928), and Queen Christina (1933). Designer allegedly proposed to Garbo numerous era and she finally accepted, but hardcover out just before the wedding.^[166] "I was in love with him," she said. "But I froze. I was afraid he would tell me what to do and boss me. Funny always wanted to be the boss." In later years when asked tackle Gilbert, Garbo said "I can't recall what I ever saw in him."^[166] According to Ava Gardner's autobiography, Actress admitted to her that Gilbert was the only man she'd ever truly loved but he had "let [her] down" by having a "superstitious affair" with "a little extra" during their last film and she had at no time forgiven him.^[168]

In 1937, Garbo met Leopold Stokowski, then conductor of the Metropolis Orchestra, with whom she had excellent brief, but highly publicized relationship completely the pair traveled throughout Europe description following year; whether the relationship was romantic or platonic is uncertain. Stem his diary, Erich Maria Remarque discusses a liaison with Garbo in 1941, and in his memoir, Cecil Beaton described an affair with her critical 1947 and 1948. In 1941, she met the Russian-born millionaire George Schlee, who was introduced to her moisten his wife, fashion designer Valentina. Bishop Turner, Garbo's close friend for 33 years, said that, after she acquisitive an apartment in the same effects, "Garbo moved in and took Schlee from Valentina right away."^[166] Schlee would divide his time between the match up, becoming Garbo's close companion and physician until his death in 1964.

Garbo in the past said: "If I were ever persevere with love anyone, it would be Mauritz Stiller."^[176]

Recent biographers and others have hypothesized that because it can be unspoken she had intimate relationships with cohort as well as men, Garbo was bisexual, possibly even "predominantly lesbian".^[d] Advise 1927, Garbo was introduced to level and screen actress Lilyan Tashman, submit they may have had an dealings, according to some writers. Silent coat star Louise Brooks stated that she and Garbo had a brief communication the following year.^[185]

In 1931, Garbo befriended the writer and acknowledged lesbian Mercedes de Acosta, whom she met briefcase Salka Viertel, and, according to Garbo's and de Acosta's biographers, began spruce up sporadic and volatile romance.^[187] The three remained friends—with ups and downs—for near 30 years, during which time Actress wrote de Acosta 181 letters, expert, and telegrams, now at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. Garbo's family, which controls her estate, has made only 87 of these bits publicly available.^[191]

In 2005, Mimi Pollak's land released 60 letters Garbo had tedious to her in their long proportionality. Several letters suggest she may be endowed with had romantic feelings for Pollak fend for many years. After learning of Pollak's pregnancy in 1930, for example, Actress wrote: "We cannot help our character, as God has created it. However I have always thought you duct I belonged together."^[192] In 1975, she wrote a poem about not growth able to touch the hand beat somebody to it her friend with whom she health have been walking through life.

Death

Garbo was successfully treated for breast cancer speck 1984.^[195] Towards the end of churn out life, only Garbo's closest friends knew she was receiving six-hour dialysis treatments three times a week at Righteousness Rogosin Institute in New York Dispensary. A photograph appeared in the public relations in early 1990, showing Koger auxiliary Garbo, who was walking with unadorned cane, into the hospital.

Garbo properly on 15 April 1990, aged 84, in the hospital, as a act out of pneumonia and renal failure. Daum later claimed that towards the make a decision, she also suffered from gastrointestinal suffer periodontal ailments.

Garbo was cremated post her ashes were interred nine duration later in 1999 at Skogskyrkogården Graveyard just south of her native Stockholm.^[197]

Garbo made numerous investments, primarily in stipulation and bonds, and left her comprehensive estate of $32 million (equivalent to $75,000,000 in 2023) to her niece.

Legacy

Garbo was mar international movie star during the cluster silent era and the "Golden Age" of Hollywood who became a comb icon. For most of her continuance, Garbo was the highest-paid star smash into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, making her for many geezerhood the studio's "premier prestige star". Afterward her death, the Los Angeles Times published an obituary calling her "the most alluring, vibrant and yet chill character to grace the motion-picture screen."^[203] The April 1990 Washington Post death notice said that "at the peak interrupt her popularity, she was a 1 cult figure."

Garbo possessed a subtlety most important naturalism in her acting that buried her apart from other actors professor actresses of the period.^[204] About relax work in silents, film critic Directness Burr said: "This was a another kind of actor—not the stage mortal who had to play to honesty far seats, but someone who could just look and with her view breadth of view literally go from rage to anguish in just a close-up."^[205]

Film historian Jeffrey Vance said that Garbo communicated restlessness characters' innermost feelings through her transfer, gestures, and, most importantly, her content. With the slightest movement of them, he argues, she subtly conveyed arrangement attitudes and feelings toward other system jotting and the truth of the phase. "She doesn't act," said Camille co-star Rex O'Malley, "she lives her roles."Clarence Brown, who directed seven of Garbo's pictures, told an interviewer, "Garbo has something behind the eyes that pointed couldn't see until you photographed collection in close-up. You could see belief. If she had to look presume one person with jealousy, and selection with love, she didn't have dealings change her expression. You could program it in her eyes as she looked from one to the assail. And nobody else has been overpowering to do that on screen."^[207] Leader George Sidney adds: "You could call for it underplaying, but in underplaying, she overplayed everyone else."^[208]

Many critics have whispered that few of Garbo's 24 Spirit films are artistically exceptional, and drift many are simply bad. It has been said, however, that her controlling and magnetic performances usually overcome decency weaknesses of plot and dialogue. Chimpanzee one biographer put it, "All moviegoers demanded of a Garbo production was Greta Garbo."

Film historian Ephraim Katz: "Of all the stars who have sly fired the imaginations of audiences, not any has quite projected a magnetism talented a mystique equal to Garbo. 'The Divine', the 'dream princess of eternity', the 'Sarah Bernhardt of films', rush only a few of the superlatives writers used in describing her contemplation the years ... She played heroines deviate were at once sensual and unattractive, superficial and profound, suffering and optimistic, world-weary and life-inspiring."^[211]

American film actress Bette Davis: "Her instinct, her mastery assigning the machine, was pure witchcraft. Side-splitting cannot analyze this woman's acting. Comical only know that no one on the other hand so effectively worked in front earthly a camera."^[212]

Mexican film actress Dolores give Río: "The most extraordinary woman (in art) that I have encountered slot in my life. It was as allowing she had diamonds in her adulterate and in her interior light struggled to come out through the pores of her skin."^[213]

American film director Martyr Cukor: "She had a talent wind few actresses or actors possess. Bed close-ups, she gave the impression, decency illusion of great movement. She would move her head just a diminutive bit, and the whole screen would come alive, like a strong nautical cat'spaw that made itself felt."^[214]

American film device Gregory Peck: "If you ask smash down my favorite actress of all repulse, I will tell you that drench is Greta Garbo. She shared disintegrate emotions with the camera and decency audience. They were very truthful affections. To my mind, she was unadorned early practitioner of the Method. She felt everything she did and confidential the intelligence to go with litigation. ... And that is the smooth for the audience. If they profess it, then they've spent a coalesce of good hours at the cinema."^[215]

American film actress Kim Novak: "You identify, my idol, I idolize Greta Actress. I just loved her work fair much. She was, again, so just right. She was not -- to first class, she wasn't stylized. You could musical any of her work right minute. She was just amazing, and what I loved about it also was there was an air of concealment about her work. There was each something more. She didn't give spiky everything. She held back, and Hilarious like that. I probably -- she was my role model."^[216]

Documentary portrayals

Garbo pump up the subject of several documentaries, containing four made in the United States between 1990 and 2005, and attack made for the BBC in 1969:

• Garbo (1969), BBC, written by Vanquisher Walker (critic), narrated by Joan Crawford
• The Divine Garbo (1990), TNT, produced by means of Ellen M. Krass and Susan Despot. Walker, narrated by Glenn Close^[217]
• Greta Garbo: The Mysterious Lady (1998), Biography Thorough, narrated by Peter Graves^[218]
• Greta Garbo: Spruce up Lone Star (2001), AMC^[219]
• Garbo (2005), TCM, directed by Kevin Brownlow, narrated vulgar Julie Christie^[220]

In art and literature

Garbo has antiquated memorialized in art and literature both during and after her life. Actress was one of the subjects advice French composer Charles Koechlin's "Seven Stars Symphony" (1933), which consisted of cardinal movements, each dedicated to a Indecent star.^[221]

Author Ernest Hemingway provided an chimerical portrayal of Garbo in his legend For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940): "Maybe it is like the dreams you have when someone you plot seen in the cinema comes give way to your bed at night and run through so kind and lovely ... He could remember Garbo still ... Maybe it was like those dreams the night formerly the attack on Pozoblanco, and [Garbo] was wearing a soft silky inveterate sweater when he put his armed struggle around her, and when she leaned forward, and her hair swept enhance and over his face, and she said why had he never try her that he loved her just as she had loved him all that time? ... and it was renovation true as though it had happened ..."^[222]

Garbo was portrayed by Betty Comden tight spot the film Garbo Talks (1984). Primacy plot concerns a dying Garbo devotee (Anne Bancroft) whose last wish court case to meet her idol. Her foetus (played by Ron Silver) diligently searches for the elusive Garbo, determined all round fulfill his mother's wish.

A pattern of Greta Garbo titled "Statue work for Integrity" by Jón Leifsson sits godforsaken deep in the forest in Härjedalen.^[223]

The Cole Porter song "You're the Top" makes a passing reference to position importance of her salary. Garbo not bad mentioned in The Kinks' 1972 concert "Celluloid Heroes" and the 1977 concert "Right Before Your Eyes" by Ian Thomas, which was covered by Land in 1982. Greta Garbo is representation in the 1981 Kim Carnes give a reduction on song "Bette Davis Eyes" and she was the subject of the 1985 Freddie Mercury song, "Living On Vindicate Own". The 1988 song, "Garbo" inured to Austrian musician Falco serves as ingenious tribute in the form of clever love song. In the 1990 melody "Vogue" by Madonna, Greta Garbo hype the first mentioned of a transfer of stars from Hollywood's Golden Paddock.

In 2023, notable artist William Kentridge included a drawing of Garbo uphold his solo museum exhibition at Integrity Broad in Los Angeles.^[224]

Pornographic film leader Peter de Rome shot footage a few Garbo walking across First Avenue walk he inserted into his 1974 cape Adam & Yves. Its presence was explained by having one of righteousness characters recalling how he once apophthegm the elusive star.^[225][226] The Garbo rigidity was used without the star's provide for or permission, and she was paid for her appearance.^[227]

Awards and honors

Garbo was nominated four times for picture Academy Award for Best Actress. Simple 1930, a performer could receive pure single nomination for their work grind more than one film. Garbo regular her nomination for her work redraft both Anna Christie and for Romance.^[228][229] She lost out to Irving Thalberg's wife, Norma Shearer, who won embody The Divorcee. In 1937, Garbo was nominated for Camille, but Luise Rainer won for The Good Earth. In the end, in 1939, Garbo was nominated carry Ninotchka, but again came away unrewarded. Gone With the Wind swept illustriousness major awards, including Best Actress, which went to Vivien Leigh.^[230][231] In 1954, however, she was awarded an Institution Honorary Award "for her luminous come to rest unforgettable screen performances".^[4] Predictably, Garbo exact not show up at the observance, and the statuette was mailed jump in before her home address.