1PARA )PAR@ ` ΘTEXT ` █Garbo, Greta1905╨1990actorBorn in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 18, 1905, Greta Lovisa Gustafsson grew up in modest circumstances and on leaving school at fourteen held various jobs. While working as a department store clerk she met Erik Petschler, a motion picture director who gave her a small part in Peter the Tramp in 1922. From 1922 to 1924 she studied in the Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm, and in 1924 she played a major role in The Story of GÜsta Berling. The film╒s director, Mauritz Stiller, gave her the name Garbo and secured for her a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood in 1925. She remained with MGM for 16 years and made 24 films, beginning with The Torrent, 1926; later silent films, including Flesh and the Devil, 1927, Love, 1927, Wild Orchids, 1929, and The Kiss, 1929, quickly established her as a star who captivated audiences with her subtle and mysterious allure. Unlike many stars of the silent movies╤and unlike her favorite leading man, John Gilbert╤she more than successfully made the transition to sound film with Anna Christie, 1930, in which her first spoken words on the screen revealed a low, husky voice to match her beauty. (The promotional campaign for the film had relied heavily on the simple declarative ╥Garbo talks!╙).Subsequent movies, among them Romance, 1930, Susan Lennox╤Her Fall and Rise, 1931, Inspiration, 1931, Mata Hari, 1932, Grand Hotel, 1932, As You Desire Me, 1932, Queen Christina, 1933, The Painted Veil, 1934, Anna Karenina, 1935, Camille, 1936, and Conquest, 1937, won Garbo a following that was almost a cult, and in Ninotchka, 1939, she displayed an unexpected gift for comedy. Her last film, Two-Faced Woman, 1941, was less successful. Garbo retired after its release and became a near-recluse, living mostly in New York City, traveling often under an assumed name, and refusing interviews or publicity of any kind. She became a U.S. citizen in 1951. She won the New York Film Critics╒ Award for Best Actress for Anna Karenina in 1935, and for Camille in 1936. In 1955 she received an Academy Award for her ╥series of luminous and unforgettable performances.╙ Her insistence on complete privacy recalled a famous line from one of her films, usually quoted, not quite accurately, as ╥I want to be alone,╙ and helped make her literally a legend in her own time. Her films, frequently revived, became classics, and she remained for many the epitome of unfathomable glamour. She died in New York City on April 15, 1990. styl ` 4 ! ¬ 5¬ 5¬ !I 7 !I F !I ╔ !I π !I ╕ !I ├ !I Θ !I ⁿ !I !I !I !I !I ( !I 0 !I 6 !I C !I 5¬ !I / !I 6 !I > !I \ !I d !I o !I w !I Ç !I ê !I ô !I ¢ !I ½ !I │ !I ┬ !I ╩ !I ┌ !I Γ !I ∩ !I ≈ !I ■ !I
