- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGrethe Ruzt-Nissen
- Height5′ 4½″ (1.64 m)
- Greta Ruzt-Nissen was born in Oslo, Norway, on January 30, 1905. As a young girl she studied dance and had intended to make a career out of it. For a while she did, but when she was 19 she appeared in her first big-screen production, The Wanderer (1925). Afterwards she made several more films, but she was one of those who lost much work due to the advent of sound films. One setback for her was when she was chosen for the lead in Hell's Angels (1930) by Howard Hughes but then replaced by Jean Harlow because of her heavy Norwegian accent. The film shot Harlow to stardom. Throughout the 1930s Greta stayed fairly busy. Obviously some roles were better than others, but she never got the breakout role she wanted so badly. After Danger in Paris (1937), Greta left the screen forever. On May 17, 1988, she died of Parkinson's disease. She was 83 years old.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
- SpousesStuart Drake Eckert(June 2, 1941 - May 17, 1988) (her death, 1 child)Weldon Heyburn(March 30, 1932 - April 28, 1936) (annulled)
- Replaced Greta Garbo in The Love Thief (1926).
- Talked about, as one of the forgotten stars of the past, in an episode of "Burke's law", episode: "Who Killed Mr. X". aired September 27, 1963.
- Studied ballet with the famed Mikhail Fokin and had her debut on Broadway in the musical "Beggar On Horseback". She appeared with Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. in the 1926 production of "No Foolin'". She was brought to the screen by Jesse Lasky. Was replaced by Jean Harlow on Hell's Angels (1930) when producer Howard Hughes decided to make it a sound film, and Nissen's heavy Norwegian accent made much of her dialogue unintelligible.
- Made $2500 a week when filming Hell's Angels (1969) in 1927/28. Was replaced when the film was made into sound and her replacement, Jean Harlow, worked for $250.
- Celebrity spokesperson for Lux Toilet Soap (1931).
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content