The elusive beauty that bewitched Hollywood with her breathtaking beauty and mysterious demeanor.
Greta Garbo literally took Hollywood by storm; she was known by many names such as The Face, The Swedish Sphinx, La Divina. Her sultry voice and beautiful face are shrouded with elusiveness and mystery. People knew her for her glamourous persona on-screen, but she is said to have led a life full of scandals and tears. Interestingly, in fifteen years of her illustrious career, people could never peep over to the person behind the glamourous persona of Ms Garbo. She was a shunner of publicity and possibly one of the toughest stars to interview.So, here are some fascinating facts about the legendary actress Greta Garbo.
She was born in Sweden and had poor and trying childhood
Greta was born on 18th September 1905 as Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Sweden. She was raised in the humble background with two older siblings and her parents. She started working in a departmental store and a barbershop at the age of fourteen after her father passed away. It was in the year 1924 that she got the scholarship for acting in the Royal Dramatic Theatre. She started in a silent movie and then followed the advice of the director changed her last name to Garbo.
She was not given a chance to speak in the movies by the bigwigs at MGM because of her accented English
Garbo came to America in the year 1925, but she didn’t know any English. It is believed that eventually, she did learn it, but her English was heavily accented. She initially found success without speaking the language as it was the era of silent movies. Later on, MGM was reluctant to give her roles in Talkies because of her deep accented voice. Eventually, she did work in Anna Christie, which was a Talkie, and the movie was a hit. Garbo was even nominated for the Oscars that year.
It is believed that Greta Garbo might have been a spy in the World War II
On-screen, she flawlessly played the roles of Mata Hari and a Russian Spy, but it is believed that she was a spy in reallife too. She is said to have collected information about the Pro-Nazis in Sweden and was working for the British Secret Intelligence Service. She is said to even pass on messages from the King of Spain to British Intelligence.
She lived her life on her own terms and bid adieu to the silver screen in her thirties, leaving a legacy of grace and elusiveness.
