Roger-Luc Chayer
In the very short list of major cultural icons that have had a significant impact on people in LGBT communities, Greta Garbo is certainly in the top 10 global stars.
Endowed with characteristics that were very rare in her time in the world of cinema, Greta Garbo had, in addition to a dramatic, serious voice, a distant look and a presence on the screen that dramatized any scene. She also had a professional attitude and quirks worthy of a very big star, such as the refusal fast enough interviews, no presence of the actress to the « first », fixed shooting times, trays not accessible for who is not not a member of the current film crew, etc.
In her private life, Greta Garbo did not hide her bisexual loves. She could certainly be herself publicly, it did not change her immense talent for which she was always asked for the biggest roles. According to Wikipedia, « Greta Garbo was bisexual, and engaged in notable romantic relationships with men and women. She would have tended to prefer women, and to lose interest in sexuality as she matured.
It seems that Greta Garbo remained single for the sake of Swedish actress Mimi Pollak, with whom she had an epistolary relationship that lasted sixty years. At the birth of Mimi Pollak’s son, she sent this telegram to her: « Incredibly proud to be a father ».
She was also the mistress of the conductor Leopold Stokowski who had left for her his wife Olga Samaroff. Despite some rumors, there was no question of marriage between them. The woman of letters Mercedes de Acosta, whose correspondence with Greta Garbo was published in 2000, said she had a long relationship with her. She has also been linked in a more or less platonic way with actresses Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Louise Brooks, Ona Munson, and with the author Salka Viertel. »
At the height of her years in cinema, from 1920 to 1941, she set the example by never caring about the opinion of others as to her love choices. Deceased in 1990 at the age of 84, Greta Garbo is still the muse of millions of gay men, as were Dalida or the fallen queen of disco Donna Summer.