Acting · Film
A leading star of silent and early golden-era Hollywood, known for her subtle, understated portrayals of melancholic and tragic characters.
Greta Garbo was a Swedish and American actress who became an international star during Hollywood’s silent era and successfully moved into sound films. She made 28 feature films, earned four Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and received an Academy Honorary Award in 1954. After her final film in 1941, she declined most offers to return to the screen and lived privately. She was also a guest at Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como.
Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in 1905, Garbo drew attention with her supporting role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. MGM executive Louis B. Mayer brought her to Hollywood in 1925, and Flesh and the Devil made her an international star in 1926.
For her first sound film, Anna Christie, released in 1930, MGM used the promotional line "Garbo talks!" Her performances in Anna Christie and Romance earned her a combined Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
By 1932, Garbo’s success allowed her to dictate her contract terms and become increasingly selective about her roles. Two-Faced Woman, released in 1941, was the last of her 28 feature films. She later declined most offers to return to the screen.
Garbo was a guest at Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como. The hotel continues to invoke its association with her and the era of her screen career.
Four years before her death, Garbo told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: "I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio ... I really wanted to live another life."
Every place in this city with a documented tie to this person.
Lived here
Garbo was a guest of the hotel, which continues to invoke her screen-era association with Lake Como.
These addresses are scattered across the city. Our routes and quests put them in an order that works.
