It turns out that Greta Garbo didn’t really want to be alone. The glamorous star of the 1920s and ‘30s was known for that saying but a new book reveals that actress suffered from social anxiety. As a result, Garbo dreaded the attention that came with her stardom.
The "Grand Hotel" actress was known to shun reporters, avoid fans and barely ever attend premiers and driving her behavior was a crippling case of social anxiety, said Donna Rifkind, author of a new book about Garbo and her acting coach Salka Viertel, in an interview with Fox News.
"Greta Garbo had social anxiety and a fear of crowds," Rifkind explained. "At the same time, she was the most popular celebrity Hollywood had ever seen [at the time], so it was a perfect storm of discomfort for her."
Rifkind has long been fascinated with Viertel and when she came across the actress-turned screenwriter's memoirs, she felt compelled to share the stories in a new book titled "The Sun and Her Stars: Salka Viertel and Hitler’s Exiles in the Golden Age of Hollywood."
The book tells of how Viertel helped artists flee the Nazis in Europe to lead a better life in California, but it also takes a closer look at the friendship between Viertel and Garbo.
What Rifkind discovered was just how much Garbo's social anxiety impacted her life. She allegedly had a deep fear of reporters and strangers, which is complicated for someone in the limelight all the time, but her friendship with Viertel was her saving grace.
"Salka was a person who was very comfortable with all kinds of people and she was able to be a little bit of a buffer between Garbo and these large crowds that she might’ve had some trepidation about," Rifkind said.
"Salka had loyalty and diplomacy and was able to deal with the studio in a way that Garbo might not have felt as comfortable as doing herself. Garbo, on the other hand, had power and prestige and celebrity, and was able to make Salka’s screenwriting career possible in Hollywood."
Their friendship lasted decades, until Viertel's death in 1978 at age 89. Twelve years later Garbo passed away at age 84. They shared a special connection that gave them both strength to endure.
"The two women complemented each other in very important ways," Rifkind concluded.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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