Greta Garbo, the Hollywood actress of the 1930s, was so mysterious that she was known as the “Swedish Sphinx.” She was best remembered for her leading roles in classics like Queen Christina and Anna Karenina. Her famous line in the 1932 hit Grand Hotel was “I want to be alone” – a line so fitting it’s almost eerie. As her career flourished, she grew more distant, and only after her death in 1990 were we able to get a glimpse of just how lonely the former starlet was.
Greta Garbo in “Susan Lenox- Her Fall and Rise.” Photo By Getty Images/Bettmann
In a collection of 65 personal letters written by Garbo to a female friend, Austrian actress and writer Salka Viertel, she wrote about just how lonely she really was.
This is a look at the life of one of Hollywood’s most reclusive stars.