Greta Garbo (18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990), born
Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a
Swedish
film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during
Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were
sensational hits, and all but three were profitable. Garbo was nominated four times for an
Academy Award and received an honorary one in 1954 for her "unforgettable screen performances". She also won the
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for both
Anna Karenina (1935) and
Camille (1936). In 1999, the
American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on their list of
greatest female stars of all time, after
Katharine Hepburn,
Bette Davis,
Audrey Hepburn, and
Ingrid Bergman.
Garbo launched her career with a leading 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 (
MGM), who brought her to
Hollywood in 1925. She immediately stirred interest with her first silent film,
Torrent , released in 1926; a year later, her performance in
Flesh and the Devil, her third movie, made her an international superstar.
