Biography of American Filmmaker and Actress Greta Garbo Part 2

About the famous American filmmaker and actress Greta Garbo, her biography and history.

Greta Garbo (1905- ).

The public loved to watch Garbo's gorgeous face--the long eyelashes, the deep, sad eyes, and the unsmiling lips. Alistair Cooke, the well-known essayist and newspaperman, said, "She gives you the feeling that if your imagination has to sin, it can at least congratulate itself on its impeccable taste." Her love scenes with John Gilbert, known as the screen's greatest lover, increased interest in their well-publicized affair. Although she had a number of lovers, including conductor Leopold Stokowski, Garbo never married. During the '30s, after her relationship with Gilbert broke up, she became a recluse within the movie colony. On trips she often took aliases such as "Miss Harriet Brown" and disguised herself with slouch hats and big coats.

In 1930, Anna Christie opened with the promotional slogan "Garbo Talks" in big letters on the marquee. While many stars lost their careers because of the introduction of sound, Garbo's vibrant, sexy voice delighted audiences. She matured before their eyes in such great roles as Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), and Camille (1937).

Garbo retired from films in 1941, never to return. It was no secret that she hated Hollywood where "it's all a terrible compromise . . . all that matters is what they call box office."

And Garbo in 1975 at the age of 70? A friend of an Almanac staffer, who dined with her in New York recently, reports: "She remains a recluse. Among her closest friends are Rod Coleman, who runs a fencing school, and his wife. Garbo adores her friends' children. Almost her entire conversation, that evening, concerned children. Her past career and movies, past or present? She discussed neither. She's very squirrelly. Collects things. She arrived with a packet of unread newspapers she meant to read. She ate like a bird. Still on health foods only. Despite her age, she still has a beautiful face, the high cheek bones still marvelous. Her voice is very low timbre, and it makes it difficult to understand what she is saying. She was almost unintelligible much of the evening. She lives in her own apartment in a New York brownstone."

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