As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to resemble Sarah Bernhardt. I even tried to imitate her acting, but my Shakespeare came out too realistic, and my possibilities in the theater in Stockholm were quite limited. It was my meeting with Mauritz Stiller that launched me into the world of cinema. I jumped at the chance, telling myself that it was necessary to be a good actress on the screen as well as the stage. […] When Victor Sjöström gave me Starlight, by Gladys Unger, to read, I discovered that it was based on the life of Sarah Bernhardt. I was terribly excited to play the part. Victor even convinced MGM that I should have the place of honor on the film poster. He told me it was the perfect chance for me to play my biggest role, within his most important work as director. Various writers worked on the script for three months. […] But all that complicated literary work ended up taking out every shred of the real life of Sarah Bernhardt. The American press thought my acting was only thing praiseworthy in the whole film. During that period, the Hollywood careers of Victor and Lars were coming to an end.

Antoni Gronowicz, Garbo. La sua storia, Milano, Frassinelli, 1990