A look into the private life of Greta Garbo, 36 years after her death
Greta Garbo led a legendary life of fame and success in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
On the 36th anniversary of her death, RadarOnline.com reveals secrets from Garbo’s private life, from her alleged romances with women to a literal encounter with It’s a great life actor Jimmy Stewart.
Garbo, whose real name was Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish-American actress who starred in a number of classic films, from The joyless street in the 1920s through Camille And Anna Karenina in the thirties.
She never tied the knot and had no children when she died at the age of 84. Although she had a number of relationships with eligible bachelors in her time, according to author Axel Madsen, she was one of “many of Hollywood’s greatest leading ladies” who had private relationships with women.
Madsen claimed that Garbo once had a short-lived affair with Marlene Dietrich after meeting in Berlin. While their alleged romance apparently ended badly, the Wild Orchids actress eventually led to a new romance with a film writer.
“When Garbo was 24, she met Hollywood writer Mercedes de Acosta, then 36,” Madsen revealed years before his death in 2007. “They would be lovers for three years.”
However, when Garbo “dumped” De Acosta, she reportedly “turned to” the starlet’s ex for “comfort.”
“Dietrich attended a party where she found Mercedes de Acosta sobbing in the kitchen after Garbo broke off their affair,” Madsen alleged. ‘Dietrich comforted her and sent flowers to cheer her up. For days, flower vans delivered bouquets of roses, carnations and rare orchids. When De Acosta complained to Marlene that she had run out of vases, Marlene sent expensive Lalique vases, followed by dressing gowns, scarves, pajamas, trousers and lamps. It wasn’t long before Mercedes was Dietrich’s new lover.’
James “Jimmy” Stewart, who died in 1997, once shared his awkward first encounter with Garbo while they worked at the same film studio.
“I never even caught a glimpse of her. Her sets were closed to visitors and her comings and goings were very quiet,” he said at the time.
But everything changed when a friend who had worked with Garbo told him he could see her as long as he “ran to her as quickly as possible” when he gave him permission.
Sure enough, Stewart finally got the call he’d been waiting for from his friend and he took off at breakneck speed.
“Well, I must have bumped into a dozen people as I ran to the soundstage… and suddenly she was right there in front of me!” the Fear of heights star continued. “Unfortunately, I ran so fast I couldn’t stop! And not only did I run into her, I knocked the big Garbo off her feet and flat on her back!”
Stewart claimed he was “shocked” and immediately apologized as he helped her back up.
Unfortunately, his humiliation would not be short-lived. Twenty years later he met her again and assumed she didn’t remember him.
“Oh yes, I do,” he remembered her telling him. “You’re the man who knocked me down.”
