Secrets of Greta Garbo: What the Snow Queen of Hollywood was silent about

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

She was called the "Swedish Sphinx", "Nordic princess" and "the snow queen of Hollywood", she was known all over the world, but almost no one knew anything about her. Half of her life, remaining in full view of everyone, she spent the second half as a hermit and a recluse. At the peak of her popularity, she left her acting career and stopped appearing in public. What secrets were so jealously guarded from prying eyes by Greta Garbo, and how the Swedish military intelligence archive helped to shed light on them - further in the review.

The name she received at birth is Greta Lovisa Gustafsson. She was born in 1905 in Stockholm. Her father passed away when she was only 13 years old. The family experienced financial difficulties, and Greta had to leave school early and get a job in a hairdressing store, and then as a saleswoman in a large department store, where she began to appear in advertisements for goods. The agents of the film studio drew attention to the attractive girl and invited her to a cameo role in the silent film "Peter the Tramp".

When she first appeared on the set, Greta realized that she wanted to pursue a career in cinema. She began her studies at the Theater Royal School of Dramatic Art, where she met director Moritz Stiller, who starred her in several of his films and changed her fate. It was he who came up with the pseudonym Greta Garbo for her and worked on her image, creating the image of a cold beauty. Moritz made her lose weight, taught her how to speak correctly, keep her posture and dress tastefully. Thanks to Stiller's efforts, the actress signed a contract in Hollywood and left for America.

In 1926, the first American film with Greta Garbo, Stream, was released, which immediately became one of the hits of the season. Other works followed, and soon Greta Garbo became the new idol of American audiences. But her Pygmalion Moritz Stiller, unlike his student, could not succeed in Hollywood and was forced to return to Sweden.

A bright appearance, a royal appearance, cold detachment and haughty raised eyebrows made her image recognizable and unique. Her beauty fell short of Hollywood standards, but her gaze was so magnetic that she was soon called the new standard of beauty. Director George Cukor once said: "".

Greta Garbo essentially opened Russian literature to the American audience when she played the main role in the film Love based on Anna Karenina - before that, Russian classics had not been filmed in Hollywood. 8 years later, Greta Garbo played this role again - in the sound film of the same name. In the era of talkie, she was able to take her place on the Hollywood Olympus, unlike other silent film stars. For America, she has become a symbol of Europe.

She differed from all Hollywood stars not only in appearance and taste preferences - Greta Garbo was not like other stars in that she loved silence, peace and solitude. While Hollywood film stars attracted attention with high-profile novels, lavish weddings and scandalous divorces, the "Swedish Sphinx" guarded its private life as a secret with seven seals. No one knew what she was doing or how she lived when she went off-set.

Greta did not give interviews to journalists, did not pose for photographers, did not respond to fans' letters and did not make friends among the actors. At first, her behavior was explained by shyness, and there was some truth in this. Once she said: "". And when fame came to her, the actress's secrecy was already attributed to stellar arrogance.

At the peak of popularity, at the age of 36, Greta Garbo suddenly decided to leave the cinema. She did not name the reasons for this, so everyone began to put forward their own assumptions: someone said that the film star was afraid of old age, and someone was sure that after her success she was afraid of the coming failures and the sunset of her star. Be that as it may, since 1941, Greta Garbo has led a reclusive lifestyle. Under the assumed name "Miss Harriet Brown" she settled in a seven-room apartment in New York and tried not to appear in public.

Her film career lasted only 20 years, and for almost 50 years after that, the snow queen of Hollywood lived as a hermit and did not appear in public. The words "" became its motto. The actress said: "".

On April 15, 1990, Greta Garbo died at the age of 84. Her departure went unnoticed for many - by that time new stars were shining in Hollywood, and 49 years after her disappearance, she was rarely remembered. However, after the death of the actress, a wave of interest in her personality arose again - biographers and journalists conducted investigations, trying to find the true reasons for her sudden departure from cinema and her seclusion.

10 years after the death of Greta Garbo, her private archive containing her letters was made public. However, none of them shed light on the mystery of the disappearance of the movie star. In the same 2000, the Swedish military intelligence archive was declassified, which revealed an unknown side of the actress's life. If you believe this information, Greta Garbo was a spy for the Allies during the Second World War. Allegedly, with her participation, a network of agents was created who destroyed stocks of heavy water for the manufacture of an atomic bomb by the Nazis. According to the same documents, she participated in the rescue of Danish Jews, whom the Nazis were preparing to take to the death camps. Thanks to Greta and members of the royal families, they were able to be transported to neutral Sweden.

All that the actress herself told about this is that Hitler was a fan of her talent, and Garbo joked that she should have accepted his invitation to come to Germany, hiding a pistol in her purse. The actress said: "". British historian and publicist David Bret published the book "Greta Garbo: Divine Star", where he stated: "".

She was credited with a large number of novels, but she never married: Greta Garbo's Unfulfilled Happiness.