How did Greta Garbo become famous?

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Greta Gustafsson was a department store clerk when a director gave her a small part in a film. She studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and played a major role in Gösta Berlings Saga (1924). The film’s director, Mauritz Stiller, gave her the name Garbo and secured her a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood.