Greta Garbo was one of the most glamorous and popular film stars of the 1920s and '30s and later a legendary recluse. Garbo was born in Stockholm to poor parents. She went to work at age 14, first as a lather girl in a barbershop, then as a clerk in a department store and as a model. In her first motion picture, Luffar-Petter (Peter the Tramp; 1922), she played a bathing beauty. From 1922 to 1924 she studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm. During that period she met Mauritz Stiller, the foremost Swedish director, who gave her an important role in Gösta Berlings Saga (1924; "The Story of Gösta Berling"), gave her the stage name Greta Garbo, and trained her in cinema-acting techniques. In 1925, when Stiller went to the United States to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he insisted that Garbo be given a contract also. In all, she appeared in 27 films (two in Sweden, one in Germany, and the remainder in Hollywood); the most important were The Torrent (1926); Flesh and the Devil (1927) and Love (1927), both with the popular leading man John Gilbert, whose name was linked with hers in a much-publicized romance; Wild Orchids (1929); Anna Christie (1930), the talking picture in which her rich, low voice was first heard; Mata Hari (1932); Grand Hotel (1932); Queen Christina (1933); Anna Karenina (1935); Camille (1936); and Ninotchka (1939), in which she displayed a surprising gift for comedy. Garbo had, in the opinion of her directors and most critics, a perfect instinct for doing the right thing before the camera. Her talent, her great beauty, and her indifference to public opinion made her career unique in the history of the cinema. At age 36 Garbo withdrew from the entertainment field and retired to a secluded life in New York City. In 1954 she was awarded a special Academy Award for unforgettable performances.

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