A digitally recreated Greta Garbo has been used to appear in a recent advertisement for ball bearings, marking a high‑profile example of how artificial intelligence can resurrect the likenesses of long‑dead screen stars. The commercial features a Garbo doppelgänger produced with generative AI techniques, bringing the legendary performer back into public view decades after her death.
Garbo rose to fame in Hollywood’s silent era and became one of the first movie stars to successfully transition to talking pictures. More than 100 years after her screen debut and following her interment — her ashes were placed in a Swedish woodland cemetery — the actor’s heirs have said they would be open to an AI version of Garbo taking on contemporary roles in the 21st century.
The involvement of the actress’s relatives in approving the commercial underscores how families and rights holders can influence the use of deceased performers’ images as new technologies make realistic digital resurrections possible. Their willingness to consider further cinematic uses of an AI Garbo points to changing commercial and creative opportunities for legacy performers.
The case of Garbo adds to a wider industry conversation about the use of AI to recreate historical figures and dead actors. As studios, advertisers and estates navigate the legal, ethical and artistic questions raised by synthetic likenesses, the Garbo commercial is likely to be cited as an early, prominent example of the phenomenon.