Nissen, Greta, 1906-1988

Norweigan born and silent film star Greta Nissen was born in Oslo, Norway on January 30, 1905 to Agnes Magdalene Larsen and Carl Andreas Frantz Nissen as Grethe Ruzt Nissen. After her parents divorce, Nissen moved with her mother to Copenhagen, Denmark where she attende ballet school. After her schooling at the National Balet Academy under the supervision of Mikhail Fokine, she became a solo ballerina for the Danish National Company. While in Denmark, Nissen starred in two films, which brought the attention of Hollywood, California film executives and she immigrated to the United States in 1923. She starred in silent films, but never made the transition to sound films. This began with Howard Hughes replacing her for Jean Harlow when the 1930 Hell's Angels was reshot due to the advent of "takies."

Nissen married twice. First, she married Weldon Heyburn Franks on March 30, 1932 in Tijuana, Mexico. However the couple had their marriage annulled on April 29, 1935. She remarried to Stuart Drake Eckert in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 1, 1941, and had one son, Tor Bruce Nissen Eckert. Nissen died of Parkinson's disease on May 15, 1988 in Montecito, California.

Sources:

Genealogy files about "Grethe 'Greta' Ruzt Nissen." Accessed on Novermber 8, 2021 on FamilySearch.org.

"Nissen, Greta (1906–1988)." Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (October 26, 2021). https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nissen-greta-1906-1988