Garbo, Greta

1905 – She was born on the 18th day of September this year in Stockholm to poor parents. She was 14 when her father died, leaving the family destitute.

1920 – She played a small role in the film Peter the Tramp.

1922 – She studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm until 1924. During that period met Mauritz Stiller, the foremost Swedish director.

1924 – Stiller gave her an important role in “Gosta Berling’s Saga”, and then gave her the stage name Greta Garbo, and trained her in cinema-acting techniques.

1925 – When Stiller went to the United States to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he insisted that Garbo be given a contract also.

1926 – In all, she appeared in 27 films, two in Sweden, one in Germany, and the remainder in Hollywood. The most important of her silent films were The Torrent this year and Flesh and the Devil in 1927.

1930 – She earned her first of her four Academy Award nominations for best actress. That same year, Garbo earned another Academy Award nomination for her role in Romance.

1935 – The director wanted her cast as the dying heiress in Dark Victory, but she insisted on a screen version of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel, Anna Karenina.

1937 – She made a great performance in her film “Camille.”

1941 – Her film “Two Faced Woman” flopped this year.

1942 – She felt that the world had changed perhaps forever and she retired, never again to face the camera. She would work for the rest of her life to perpetuate the Garbo mystique.

1954 – She was given a special Oscar for past unforgettable performances.

1990 – She penned her own biography. And on April 15 of this year, Greta died of natural causes in New York and with it the "Garbo Mystique". She was 84 then.