Ingrid Bergman

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Birthday:

29 August 1915, Stockholm, Sweden

Height:

175 cm

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. She had had a taste of acting at age 17 when she played an uncredited role of a girl standing in line in the Swedish film Landskamp (1932) in 1932 - not much of a beginning for a girl who would be known as "Sweden's illustrious gift to Hollywood." 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. The next year she enrolled at the Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm but decided that stage acting was not for her. It would be three more years before she would have another chance at a film. When she did, it was more than just a bit part. The film in question was Munkbrogreven (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 En enda natt (1939) in 1939 and Juninatten (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 the great 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 Höstsonaten (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. Show less «

The best way to keep young is to keep going in whatever it is that keeps you going. With me that's work, and a lot of it. And when a job is ...Show more »

The best way to keep young is to keep going in whatever it is that keeps you going. With me that's work, and a lot of it. And when a job is finished, relax and have fun. Show less «

I've gone from saint to whore and back to saint again, all in one lifetime.

[to daughter Isabella Rossellini, on acting] Keep it simple. Make a blank face and the music and the story will fill it in.

People didn't expect me to have emotions like other women.

I've never sought success in order to get fame and money; it's the talent and the passion that count in success.

I remember one day sitting at the pool and suddenly the tears were streaming down my cheeks. Why was I so unhappy? I had success. I had secu...Show more »

I remember one day sitting at the pool and suddenly the tears were streaming down my cheeks. Why was I so unhappy? I had success. I had security. But it wasn't enough. I was exploding inside. Show less «

I have no regrets. I wouldn't have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say.

Until 45 I can play a woman in love. After 55 I can play grandmothers. But between those ten years, it is difficult for an actress.

I don't regret a thing I've done. I only regret the things I didn't do.

Happiness is good health and a bad memory.

I don't worry about it because we are all growing old. If I were the only one I would worry. But we're all in the same boat, and all of my f...Show more »

I don't worry about it because we are all growing old. If I were the only one I would worry. But we're all in the same boat, and all of my friends are coming with me. We all go toward old age. How many years left we don't know. We just have to accept it. Show less «

Time is shortening. But every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me.

I was the shyest human ever invented, but I had a lion inside me that wouldn't shut up.

In Paris, when the picture came out [Casablanca (1942)], they weren't too pleased with it. They didn't like the political point of view. The...Show more »

In Paris, when the picture came out [Casablanca (1942)], they weren't too pleased with it. They didn't like the political point of view. The picture was taken off immediately and was never sold to television. A while ago, it was brought in and opened in five theatres in Paris, as a new movie. They had a big gala opening where I appeared and people were absolutely crazy about it. Show less «

You must train your intuition - you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.

Be yourself. The world worships the original.

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.

It is not whether you really cry. It's whether the audience thinks you are crying.

There are advantages to being a star, though - you can always get a table in a full restaurant.

I always felt guilty. My whole life.

I don't think anyone has the right to intrude in your life, but they do. I would like people to separate the actress and the woman.

I can do everything with ease on the stage, whereas in real life I feel too big and clumsy. So I didn't choose acting; acting chose me.

I have grown up alone. I've taken care of myself. I worked, earned money and was independent at 18.

I have had my different husbands, my families. I am fond of them all and I visit them all. But deep inside me there is the feeling that I be...Show more »

I have had my different husbands, my families. I am fond of them all and I visit them all. But deep inside me there is the feeling that I belong to show business." Show less «

I made so many films which were more important, but the only one people ever want to talk about is that one with [Humphrey Bogart].

Having a home, husband, and child ought to be enough for any woman's life. I mean, that's what we are meant for, isn't it? But still I think...Show more »

Having a home, husband, and child ought to be enough for any woman's life. I mean, that's what we are meant for, isn't it? But still I think every day is a lost day. As if only half of me is alive. The other half is pressed down in a bag and suffocated. Show less «

If you took acting away from me, I'd stop breathing.

Acting is the best medicine in the world - if you're not feeling well, it goes away because you are busy thinking about something that isn't...Show more »

Acting is the best medicine in the world - if you're not feeling well, it goes away because you are busy thinking about something that isn't yourself. We actors are very fortunate people. Show less «

Cancer victims who don't accept their fate, who don't learn to live with it, will only destroy what little time they have left.

[Cary Grant] is quite remarkable, you know. I think [Audrey Hepburn] is now too old for him, and in his next picture he will be making love ...Show more »

[Cary Grant] is quite remarkable, you know. I think [Audrey Hepburn] is now too old for him, and in his next picture he will be making love to someone like Jane Fonda. Show less «

No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight of the soul.

I always wanted to do comedies but nobody discovered this until my old age. They think all Swedes are like [Greta Garbo].

I am happy I was born Swedish because this means having a tough education -- at least it was in my time. But I couldn't live there, even whe...Show more »

I am happy I was born Swedish because this means having a tough education -- at least it was in my time. But I couldn't live there, even when I was in my 20s. Sweden is too far from the rest of the world psychologically. There you feel confined on an island. Show less «

I work so hard before the camera and on the stage that I have neither the desire nor the energy to act in my private life

Hollywood was a terribly lonely place for me. I had wonderful associations with Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, and all the others while I wo...Show more »

Hollywood was a terribly lonely place for me. I had wonderful associations with Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, and all the others while I worked with them, but after they left the studios at night, they retired to their own circle of friends. Show less «

Because I'm a Swede I always suffer in films, drive audiences out into the night sobbing. Look at The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). I was happ...Show more »

Because I'm a Swede I always suffer in films, drive audiences out into the night sobbing. Look at The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). I was happy and gay but there had to be something wrong. So they gave me TB. Show less «

[filming Anastasia (1956)] Yul Brynner was shorter, I suggested putting a little block under him. 'You think I want to play it standing on a...Show more »

[filming Anastasia (1956)] Yul Brynner was shorter, I suggested putting a little block under him. 'You think I want to play it standing on a box? I'll show the world what a big horse you are!' I never had a complex about my height after that. Show less «

[on Casablanca (1942)] I never knew how the picture was going to end, if I was really in love with my husband or Bogart. So I had no idea ho...Show more »

[on Casablanca (1942)] I never knew how the picture was going to end, if I was really in love with my husband or Bogart. So I had no idea how I should play the character. I kept begging them to give me the ending but they'd say, 'We haven't made up our minds. We'll shoot it both ways'. We did the first ending and they said,'That's good, we won't bother with the other'. Show less «

[on Jean Renoir]: A force for life in everything he touches. A god and a poet!