Actress. Born Greta Louisa Gustafsson (professionally known as Greta Garbo), on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden. Garbo was one of three children who became a legendary actress and one of the most fascinating women of all time. Despite her beauty, she was somewhat reclusive and photophobic. Garbo was a stage-struck girl of 14 when her job as a clerk in a department store led to photographic modeling for her employer's catalog. This in turn brought parts in two short advertising films and, at 16, a bathing beauty role in E.A. Petschler's film The Vagabond Baron. In 1923, Garbo was one of only seven students admitted to Sweden's prestigious Royal Dramatic Theatre Academy. While attending the training school, she chose her stage name and worked to develop her voice. Her studies at the academy served as both the foundation for her acting career and a source of several lifelong friendships with other actors and artists. Within a year, one of Sweden's foremost film directors, Mauritz Stiller, recognized Garbo's unique beauty and immense talent. Stiller selected Garbo to play the role of Countess Elizabeth Dohna in the Swedish film The Atonement of Gosta Berling (1924). The film was considered a silent screen masterpiece and was a huge success throughout Europe. Garbo was soon cast in the leading role of Joyless Street, the definitive masterpiece of German realistic cinema, directed by G.W. Pabst. The film received international acclaim for its depth of feeling and technical innovations. The film and Garbo's performance were a critical success, shattering box office records. Driving Garbo unmercifully, Stiller molded her into an actress and insisted on bringing her with him to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio in Hollywood in the summer of 1925. Through Stiller, she won an assignment in her first American film The Torrent (1926). Garbo quickly became the reigning star of Hollywood, due to both the box office successes of her films and her captivating performances. Garbo’s aura created a unique balance between femininity and independence, proving that these qualities were not mutually exclusive. While many of her silent film contemporaries failed in making the transition to sound films, she found artistic expression and thrived in this breakthrough medium. Her voice added a wonderful new dimension to her characters.