Ingrid Bergman
Who was Ingrid Bergman?
Swedish actress who won three Academy Awards including Best Actress for "Gaslight" and starred in classics like "Casablanca."
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Ingrid Bergman (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Ingrid Bergman was born on August 29, 1915, in Stockholm, Sweden, to a Swedish father and a German mother. She attended Palmgrenska samskolan and later trained at Dramatens elevskola, the acting school linked to the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. After appearing in Swedish and German films in the 1930s, she began her international career with the English-language remake of "Intermezzo" in 1939, which brought her to Hollywood.
During the 1940s, Bergman became one of Hollywood's leading actresses. She starred with Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca" in 1942, a wartime romance that became a classic. Her role in "Gaslight" in 1944 earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, and she was nominated again for "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Bells of St. Mary's," and "Joan of Arc." She worked three times with director Alfred Hitchcock in "Spellbound," "Notorious," and "Under Capricorn." In 1947, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in "Joan of Lorraine" on Broadway, making her one of the few performers to win awards in film, television, and stage.
In 1950, Bergman's personal life became widely publicized when it was revealed she was having an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini, whom she later married. Her pregnancy before their marriage caused a scandal in the United States, leading to a period of self-imposed exile in Europe. There, she starred in several of Rossellini's films, including "Europa '51" and "Journey to Italy." She returned to international cinema with "Anastasia" in 1956, winning her second Academy Award for Best Actress. She and Rossellini eventually divorced, and she later married Swedish theater producer Lars Schmidt.
Bergman's career continued strongly into the 1970s and beyond. Her supporting role as Greta Ohlsson in "Murder on the Orient Express" in 1974 earned her a third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1975. She received an Honorary César in 1976 and won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1982 for her portrayal of Golda Meir in "A Woman Called Golda." She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress and the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress from Italy, showing her deep ties to European cinema. Ingrid Bergman died on August 29, 1982, in London, on her sixty-seventh birthday, after a prolonged illness.
Before Fame
Ingrid Bergman lost both of her parents early in life, with her mother passing away when she was two and her father when she was twelve, leading her to be raised by relatives. From a young age, she was passionate about acting and trained at Palmgrenska samskolan before being accepted to Dramatens elevskola in Stockholm. Her natural talent landed her roles in Swedish and German films in the mid-1930s, like Munkbrogreven and Die vier Gesellen.
Hollywood producer David O. Selznick saw her potential for American audiences and arranged for her to star in the English-language remake of Intermezzo in 1939. Unlike many European actresses who came to Hollywood then, Bergman chose to appear without heavy makeup or glamorous alterations, which set her apart and made her standout as an unusually genuine and believable presence on screen.
Key Achievements
- Won three Academy Awards: Best Actress for Gaslight (1945) and Anastasia (1957), and Best Supporting Actress for Murder on the Orient Express (1975)
- Won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Joan of Lorraine in 1947
- Won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for A Woman Called Golda in 1982
- Became the youngest performer to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting
- Starred in Casablanca, one of the most acclaimed and widely recognized films in the history of cinema
Did You Know?
- 01.Bergman died on her 67th birthday, 29 August 1982, in London.
- 02.She became the youngest performer to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won competitive Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards.
- 03.Her affair and out-of-wedlock pregnancy with director Roberto Rossellini prompted a U.S. senator to denounce her on the floor of the Senate in 1950.
- 04.She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Europa '51, though the award was initially withheld in 1952 because a dubbed version of the film had been screened; it was granted posthumously in 1992.
- 05.Bergman's role as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca was filmed without a completed script, and she famously did not know which man her character would choose until very late in production.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | 1975 | — |
| Academy Award for Best Actress | 1945 | — |
| Academy Award for Best Actress | 1957 | — |
| Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play | 1947 | — |
| Honorary César | 1976 | — |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | 1982 | — |
| star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | — | — |
| Donaldson Awards | — | — |
| David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress | — | — |
| Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress | — | — |