History Creator / GretaGarbo

* WhatBeautifulEyes: She had expressive blue eyes that were always commented on as adding to her mystery. A photographer called William Daniels said that he regretted never taking a colored photo of her because "I had to get those incredible blue eyes in color," but it was very expensive at the time. However, there are many coloured professional photos of Garbo that can be found that highlight her eyes.

'''Greta Garbo in popular culture'''

* TheRival: To Creator/MarleneDietrich.[[note]]Some sources claim that when Garbo insisted on getting top billing in ''Film/GrandHotel'', third-billed Creator/JoanCrawford, never one to take this sort of perceived slight lying down, retaliated by playing Dietrich records between takes.[[/note]]

Greta Garbo, born as Greta Lovisa Gustafsson (September 18, 1905 -- April 15, 1990) was one of Hollywood's most famous sex symbols during the late silent era, UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra and the early years of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood. She was born in Stockholm, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the third and last child of a poor day laborer and his wife. Her first acting job was in an advertisement when she was fifteen years old. After going to drama school, she got her first big break when she landed the female lead in Swedish film ''The Saga of Gösta Berling''. She came to the attention of Creator/{{MGM}} head Louis B. Mayer, who was enchanted, signed her to a film contract, and brought her to America.

Greta Garbo (September 18, 1905 -- April 15, 1990) was one of Hollywood's most famous sex symbols during the late silent era and TheThirties. She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the third and last child of a poor day laborer and his wife. Her first acting job was in an advertisement when she was fifteen years old. After going to drama school, she got her first big break when she landed the female lead in Swedish film ''The Saga of Gösta Berling''. She came to the attention of Creator/{{MGM}} head Louis B. Mayer, who was enchanted, signed her to a film contract, and brought her to America.

Garbo spoke no English when she came to Hollywood but in the silent movie era this didn't pose a problem. She became an instant star--in her second film for MGM she got top billing. Her European sensuality was a revelation to American film audiences. Her career, however, was threatened by talking pictures, which sent several other European actors and actresses back home. MGM delayed her talking debut as long as they could; the last silent picture MGM ever made, ''The Kiss'' (1929), was a Garbo vehicle. Her first talking feature, ''Anna Christie'', was marketed with the tagline "GARBO TALKS!" It was a smash hit, and Garbo continued to be hugely popular throughout TheThirties, playing the same kinds of roles she had in the silent era, as [[FemmeFatale femme fatales]] or tragic lovers. Her PlayingAgainstType romatic comedy role in ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'' (1939) was another huge success, but she only made one more film. Various projects were proposed throughout TheForties but nothing came to fruition and Garbo eventually decided to retire from acting.

* IceQueen: This was her public image in many films. An icy cold, expressionless woman who cannot be humoured, yet very sexy and much in control over her men. In ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'' she laughed on camera for the first time, which was heavily publicized by film producers with the tag line "Garbo laughs".
* LeaveMeAlone: Her most famous line is ''I want to be alone'', from ''Film/GrandHotel'', which can be seen as the epiphat of her entire life. It reappeared in many of her films as a RunningGag. She also used and subverted this line in ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}''.

* Garbo made several appearances in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons. Commonly, she was drawn with a long, [[PerpetualFrowner miserable]] face and comically-large feet [[note]]There are several theories over the "Garbo had big feet" joke in the cartoons, but it was possibly either a reference to the rumour that Garbo was never filmed below the waist because she had unattractively enormous feet, or because other actresses in Hollywood had very small shoe sizes in comparison[[/note]].

* Garbo made several appearances in WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons. Commonly, she was drawn with a long, [[PerpetualFrowner miserable]] face and comically-large feet.

** She kisses WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse near the end of ''Mickey's Gala Premier''.

* IceQueen: This was her public image in many films. An icy cold, expressionless woman who cannot be humoured, yet very sexy and much in control over her men. In ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'' she laughed on camera for the first time, which was heavily publicized by film producers with the tag line ''Garbo laughs''.

* PopCultureOsmosis: Everyone say it together: ""Gimme a whiskey, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby!"
* TheRival: To Creator/MarleneDietrich.[[note]] Some sources claim that when Garbo insisted on getting top billing in ''Film/GrandHotel'', third-billed Creator/JoanCrawford, never one to take this sort of perceived slight lying down, retaliated by playing Dietrich records between takes.[[/note]]

* She kisses WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse near the end of ''Mickey's Gala Premier''.
* She appears in ''Mother Goose Goes Hollywood'' where she sits on a seesaw with Creator/EdwardGRobinson and then says her famous line: ''I want so much to be left alone''. To which Edward grants her wish, goes away, causing the seesaw and Garbo to fall.
* She also appears in ''WesternAnimation/HollywoodStepsOut'', a WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoon.

* She appears in the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck cartoon ''The Autograph Hound'', riding on a limousine that looks like her face.

-->--'''Garbo''' in ''Film/GrandHotel''

Greta Garbo (1905–1990) was one of Hollywood's most famous sex symbols during the late silent era and TheThirties. She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the third and last child of a poor day laborer and his wife. Her first acting job was in an advertisement when she was fifteen years old. After going to drama school, she got her first big break when she landed the female lead in Swedish film ''The Saga of Gösta Berling''. She came to the attention of Creator/{{MGM}} head Louis B. Mayer, who was enchanted, signed her to a film contract, and brought her to America.

* ReclusiveArtist: Garbo has always been someone who preferred being alone. Despite being the biggest female movie star of the first half of the 20th century she never gave much interviews, nor signed autographs or answered fan letters. From the 1940s until 1991, her death she virtually disappeared out of the media, gave no interviews and didn't allow herself to be photographed. In her private life too, she never married, had no children and lived alone. This image was also cultivated in the roles she portrayed on the big screen.

'''Greta Garbo''' (1905-1990) was one of Hollywood's most famous sex symbols during the late silent era and TheThirties. She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the third and last child of a poor day laborer and his wife. Her first acting job was in an advertisement when she was fifteen years old. After going to drama school, she got her first big break when she landed the female lead in Swedish film ''The Saga of Gösta Berling''. She came to the attention of Creator/{{MGM}} head Louis B. Mayer, who was enchanted, signed her to a film contract, and brought her to America.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greta_garbo_636.jpg]]

* She is the first actress namedropped by Music/{{Madonna}} in her song ''Vogue'' from ''Music/ImBreathless'' (1990).

->"I want to be alone."
-->-- Garbo in ''Film/GrandHotel''

* TheRival: To Creator/MarleneDietrich.

* ShoutOut:
** Kisses WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse near the end of ''Mickey's Gala Premier''.
** Appears in ''Mother Goose Goes Hollywood'' where she sits on a seesaw with Creator/EdwardGRobinson and then says her famous line: ''I want so much to be left alone''. To which Edward grants her wish, goes away, causing the seesaw and Garbo to fall.
** Also appears in ''Hollywood Steps Out'', a WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoon.
** In ''Literature/{{Reds}}'' she becomes the president of the UASR in an alternative history timeline.
** She is the first actress namedropped by Music/{{Madonna}} in her song ''Vogue''.
* SmokingIsGlamorous: She did this too, as many movie icons of her time did.

She gained a reputation as a recluse, but in fact she had an active social life and plenty of friends. When she was a huge movie star she had avoided the media, virtually never giving interviews or showing up for award ceremonies, and in retirement she continued to not talk to the press. She died of pneumonia and kidney failure in 1990.

* ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'' (1939)

* ''Film/Love'' (1927) -- adaptation of ''Literature/AnnaKarenina''