Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American actress, regarded as one of the greatest actresses and silver screen icons. For most of her career, she was the highest-paid actor or actress at MGM.
In her private life, Garbo was known to have relationships with both women and men. She called her lesbian love affairs “exciting secrets,” and, along with lover Marlene Dietrich, called a group of Hollywood women her “Sewing Circle,” a discreet code for lesbian or bisexual actresses during Hollywood’s golden age.
Retiring from film at 35, she became a mysterious, reclusive figure, never married, had no children, and lived alone as an adult. Throughout her life, she was known for taking long, daily walks in New York City, and "Garbo-watching” became a sport for admirers. Garbo also invested wisely during her retirement, leaving her entire estate of $32 million (equivalent to $66,000,000 in 2021) to her niece.
