Greta Nissan

Greta Nissen
Nissen on cover of November 1927 issue of movie magazine Cine Mundial
Born	Grethe Rüzt-Nissen (1906-01-30)January 30, 1906 Oslo, Norway
Died	May 15, 1988(1988-05-15) (aged 82) Montecito, California, United States
Spouse(s)	Weldon Heyburn Stuart D. Eckert

Greta Nissen (30 January 1906 – 15 May 1988) was a Norwegian-born American film and stage actress.

Born Grethe Rüzt-Nissen in Oslo, Norway, Nissen was originally a dancer. She debuted as a solo ballerina on the National Theatre in 1922. She toured in Norway and participated in several Danish films.

Nissen made her Broadway debut as a ballerina in 1924. She had studied ballet with Mikhail Fokine. In early 1924, she came as a member of a Danish ballet troupe to New York, where she was soon hired to do a larger dance numbers for George S. Kaufman in the musical Beggar on Horseback. Greta was discovered by film producer Jesse L. Lasky of Paramount Pictures, and would appear in more than twenty films.

She appeared in The Wanderer (1925, director Raoul Walsh). Among her other films were A Wife, The King on Main Street, The Love Thief, Ambassador Bill, The Lucky Lady, and Honours Easy. In 1932, she played in The Silent Witness with Weldon Heyburn, who became her first husband. They married March 30, 1932, in Tijuana, Mexico. On October 19, 1935, Nissen went to court to have the marriage annulled, "charging their marriage ... was illegal and violated legal witness and residence requirements." The annulment was granted April 30, 1936.

In 1933, she moved to England. Her film career ended in the mid-1930s after she had appeared in a few British films. In 1937 she retired from movie acting altogether.

A 1925 New York Times review of the silent film A Norwegian Actress described Greta:

She was graceful in her movements and expressions, with a constantly changing gaze. The actress was attractive rather than beautiful. Her chin and nose were both somewhat pronounced. Greta's personality was delightful and she never showed an awareness to the audience that she was conscious of being on camera. Her skin was fair and she possessed blonde hair. At different times her coiffure had a somewhat "wild" appearance.