![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/71AE631C-73A7-4F4A-8564-2435269FF91D/2JRA36G.jpg)
Greta Garbo by Clarence Sinclair Bull (MGM, Early 1930s). Portrait. Colorized by Bill Waterson.
Greta Garbo[a] (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson;[b] 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses to ever be on screen, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta 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 stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent (1926). Garbo's performance in Flesh and the Devil (1927), her third movie, made her an international star. In 1928, Garbo starred in A Woman of Affairs, which catapulted her at MGM to its highest box-office star, usurping the long-reigning Lillian Gish. Other well-known Garbo films from the silent era are The Mysterious Lady (1928), The Single Standard (1929) and The Kiss (1929).
Size: 2216px × 2898px
Photo credit: © Bill Waterson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: actor, actress, beautiful, born, celebrity, classic, den, divine, famous, film, garbo, greta, gudomliga, gustafsson, hollywood, icon, lovisa, movie, photo, photogenique, portrait, star, stockholm, sweden, swedish, swedish-american, vintage, woman