In a lot of ways Great Garbo was the original Shia Labeouf. And in a lot of other, much more accurate ways, she wasn't anything like him: she was one of the best and most successful actresses of both the silent and golden age of Hollywood films, a multiple Oscar nominee, and her name autocorrects as "Great Gatsby" on my phone. Suddenly, though, she threw that all away. At the tender age of 35, Garbo announced her retirement from both the silver screen and public life as a whole. Of course, that didn't stop people trying to coax her back into both. Producers were trying to tempt her back into acting roles right up until her death in 1990, aged 84, but the German-born actress wouldn't even compromise with cameo roles as some of the other "retired" actors we've looked at have. Her private life, meanwhile, was intensely scrutinised: she never married, never had children, and lived the majority of her adult life alone. This wasn't anything new, either, as during the height of her fame she rarely gave interviews, shirked fancy Hollywood parties and never signed autographs. Her studio bosses, initially frustrated, eventually capitalised on Garbo's mysterious nature. The tl:dr of this is, basically, Garbo was an incredibly talented and popular actor who got bored, didn't like the attention, and decided to live a quiet, simple life instead. Oh and she was an art collector, with a personal gallery with millions of dollars. So that probably helped.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
