Ingrid Bergman
Biography
Born August 29, 1915 in Stockholm, Sweden
Died August 29, 1982 in Chelsea, London, England, UK (lymphoma complications following a breast cancer operation)
Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Ingrid Bergman was one of the greatest actresses from Hollywood's lamented Golden Era. Her natural and unpretentious beauty and her immense acting talent made her one of the most celebrated figures in the history of American cinema. Bergman is also one of the most Oscar-awarded actresses, tied with Meryl Streep, both second only to Katharine Hepburn.
Ingrid Bergman was born on August 29, 1915 in Stockholm, Sweden, to a German mother, Frieda Henrietta (Adler), and a Swedish father, Justus Samuel Bergman, an artist and photographer. Her mother died when she was only two and her father died when she was 12. She went to live with an elderly uncle.
The woman who would be one of the top stars in Hollywood in the 1940s had decided to become an actress after finishing her formal schooling. Her parents died when she was just a girl and the uncle she lived with didn't want to stand in the way of Ingrid's dream. Her first film was The Count of the Old Town (1935), where she had a speaking part as Elsa Edlund. After several films that year that established her as a class actress, Ingrid appeared in Intermezzo (1936) as Anita Hoffman. Luckily for her, American producer David O. Selznick saw it and sent a representative from Selznick International Pictures to gain rights to the story and have Ingrid signed to a contract. Once signed, she came to California and starred in United Artists' 1939 remake of her 1936 film, Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939), reprising her original role. The film was a hit and so was Ingrid.
Her beauty was unlike anything the movie industry had seen before and her acting was superb. Hollywood was about to find out that they had the most versatile actress the industry had ever seen. Here was a woman who truly cared about the craft she represented. The public fell in love with her. Ingrid was under contract to go back to Sweden to film Only One Night (1939) in 1939 and June Night (1940) in 1940. Back in the US she appeared in three films, all well-received. She made only one film in 1942, but it was the classic Casablanca (1942) opposite Humphrey Bogart.
Ingrid was choosing her roles well. In 1943 she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), the only film she made that year. The critics and public didn't forget her when she made Gaslight (1944) the following year--her role of Paula Alquist got her the Oscar for Best Actress. In 1945 Ingrid played in Spellbound (1945), Saratoga Trunk (1945) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), for which she received her third Oscar nomination for her role of Sister Benedict. She made no films in 1947, but bounced back with a fourth nomination for Joan of Arc (1948). In 1949 she went to Italy to film Stromboli (1950), directed by Roberto Rossellini. She fell in love with him and left her husband, Dr. Peter Lindstrom, and daughter, Pia Lindström. America's "moral guardians" in the press and the pulpits were outraged. She was pregnant and decided to remain in Italy, where her son was born. In 1952 Ingrid had twins, Isotta and Isabella Rossellini, who became an outstanding actress in her own right, as did Pia.
Ingrid continued to make films in Italy and finally returned to Hollywood in 1956 in the title role in Anastasia (1956), which was filmed in England. For this she won her second Academy Award. She had scarcely missed a beat. Ingrid continued to bounce between Europe and the US making movies, and fine ones at that. A film with Ingrid Bergman was sure to be a quality production. In her final big-screen performance in 1978's Autumn Sonata (1978) she had her final Academy Award nomination. Though she didn't win, many felt it was the most sterling performance of her career. Ingrid retired, but not before she gave an outstanding performance in the mini-series A Woman Called Golda (1982), a film about Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. For this she won an Emmy Award as Best Actress, but, unfortunately, she did not live to see the fruits of her labor.
Ingrid died from cancer on August 29, 1982, her 67th birthday, in London, England.
Lars Schmidt (21 December 1958 - 1978) ( divorced)
Roberto Rossellini (24 May 1950 - 7 November 1957) ( divorced) ( 3 children)
Dr. Petter Aron Lindström (10 July 1937 - 9 February 1950) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
Tall, naturally-curvaceous frame
Performances in dramas where her characters were put through harrowing emotional wringers.
Trivia (131)
Married Lars Schmidt in Caxton Hall next to Westminster Abbey, London, England,.
Ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Sweden.
She played the part of Joan of Arc three times in her career: on stage in 1946 (in Maxwell Anderson's 'Joan of Lorraine') and on film in 1948 (Joan of Arc (1948)) and 1954 (Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (1954)).
Former mother-in-law of Martin Scorsese.
Has a type of rose named after her, called the Ingrid Bergman rose.
Many of her shorter male co-stars, such as Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains, had to wear lifts to avoid looking small next to this 5' 9" beauty.
She and her husband were often invited to dinner parties at the home of Alfred Hitchcock. According to those present, she never seemed to notice that her host was sulking because of his crush on her.
Was fluent in English, Swedish, French, German and Italian.
Sergio Scaglietti, Ferrari's master coachbuilder and aluminum sculptor, shaped some the most beautiful Ferraris of the '50s and '60s, including the 375MM built in 1954 for her. That "Ingrid" car has, in turn, inspired the proportions of today's 612 Scaglietti, the largest Ferrari ever (there's even a silver "Ingrid" paint option).
At her funeral service held at Saint Martin's-in-the-fields Church, there was nothing that was as touching as the moment when, a violin played the strains of 'As Time Goes By'.
When Ernest Hemingway told her she would have to cut off her hair for the role of Maria in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), she shot back, "To get that part, I'd cut my head off!" She would rehearse tirelessly until any hour of the night, begging to repeat a scene long after the director was satisfied.
Her luck was as phenomenal as her talent. In New York City, a Swedish couple praised a film of hers to their son, an elevator operator in the apartment building where one of film producer David O. Selznick's young talent scouts lived. Six months later, Ingrid was on her way to Hollywood. "I owe my whole career to that elevator boy", she would say laughingly.
On the first anniversary of her death, stars, friends and family came to Venice Film Festival to honor her. Among the many guests were Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, Charlton Heston, Roger Moore, Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Swedes are very proud of Bergman. They even have "Ingrid Bergman Square" with a statue of the screen goddess looking out over the water to her former home. Her ashes were scattered over the sea nearby.
To prepare for her role of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, in A Woman Called Golda (1982), she traveled around Israel and interviewed those who had known Golda. She spent hours studying old newsreels to master Golda's mannerisms. She was 66 years old at the time.
Enjoyed working with Gary Cooper, for she did not have to take off her shoes.
Received a fascinating 1939 telegram from the great Greta Garbo reading, "I would like to see you when I am free, if you would be willing".
Cary Grant remembered that she had come on the set one morning and was simply out of it: "We went over and over the scene, and she was in some sort of haze. You know, she just wasn't there. But [director] Alfred Hitchcock didn't say anything. He just sat there next to the camera, pulling on his cigar. Finally, around 11 a.m., I began to see in Ingrid's eyes that she was starting to come around. And for the first time all morning, the lines were coming out right. And just then Hitchcock said, 'Cut.' Hitch just sat and looked up at Ingrid and said, quietly, 'Good morning, Ingrid' ".
Her 1980 autobiography, "My Story", was a best-seller.
Lived in five interesting cities in five different countries; Stockholm, Hollywood, Rome, Paris and London.
Received the (at the time) enormous amount of $129,000 for her role in Maxwell Anderson's "Joan of Lorraine" on Broadway. She also received at least 21 awards for that play.
She was voted the 12th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 1960 she became the third performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting: Oscars for Gaslight (1944), Anastasia (1956), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), a Tony for "Joan of Lorraine" (1947) and Emmys in 1960 and 1982.
Won Broadway's 1947 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for "Joan of Lorraine" - an award shared with Helen Hayes. They would later co-star in Anastasia (1956), for which she won her second Oscar.
Was a good friend of author Ernest Hemingway, whom she called "Papa." He, in turn, called her "Daughter.".
Bergman was making The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), the sequel to Going My Way (1944), when the 1944 Academy Awards ceremony took place. She, co-star Bing Crosby and director Leo McCarey had all been nominated for Oscars, Crosby and McCarey for Going My Way (1944). They all won that night, Bergman for Gaslight (1944), the first of her three Academy Awards. When she picked up her Best Actress statuette, she said, "I'm afraid that if I went on the set tomorrow without an Oscar, neither of them would speak to me.".
Amanda S. Stevenson 
AncientFaces 
