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Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
The life of Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) is as compelling as that of any of the women she portrayed in dozens of unforgettable movies and plays—a list that includes Casablanca, Intermezzo, Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary's, Notorious, Anastasia, and Hedda Gabler. Hers is a story that begins with a tragic childhood in Sweden, then moves on to the nightmare of Germany under the Nazis and later to Hollywood in its golden age. From her position as America's most beautiful, admired, and loved actress, she was plunged into national disgrace and branded "an apostle of degradation" for her adulterous love affair with Roberto Rosellini in the late 1940s. But her independent spirit triumphed in the end, winning her honors and accolades even as she fought an eight-year battle with cancer. Donald Spoto, who knew Ingrid Bergman and had unprecedented access to her husbands, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, as well as to her papers, letters, and diaries, has written a biography that the San Francisco Chronicle called "mesmerizing" and "deeply moving"—the definitive account of a consummate actress who dared to live the truth.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
44 people are currently reading
933 people want to read
About the author
Donald Spoto
59 books167 followersA prolific and respected biographer and theologian, Donald Spoto is the author of twenty published books, among them bestselling biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, and Ingrid Bergman. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Donald Spoto earned his Ph.D. in theology at Fordham University. After years as a theology professor, he turned to fulltime writing. The Hidden Jesus: A New Life, published in 1999, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "offering a mature faith fit for the new millennium." His successful biography of Saint Francis was published in 2002.
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August 4, 2019
“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”
― Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid at age fourteen.
Ingrid’s mother, Frieda, dies when she is only two years old. Her father, Justus, is an interesting man, an artist, but also a man obsessed with cameras and video. He borrows a video camera for each of Ingrid’s birthdays, and from what people have commented from looking at those old films, Ingrid is in love with the camera and the camera is in love with her. She knows from a young age that she wants to be an actress. Her father has other dreams for her. He hopes she’ll be an opera star. I have a feeling that whatever Ingrid Bergman had decided to do with her life she would have been committed to being successful. Unfortunately, Justus dies when she is thirteen, so he never has the opportunity to even see the beginning of what would become a monumental career.
In 1937, she marries Petter Lindström, a dentist who is studying to become a neurosurgeon. He is a scientist and approaches life with a practicality that sometimes jars with the emotions of his artist wife. He negotiates all her contracts. He is sometimes seen as too controlling, especially by producers who find it easier to make deals with actresses than their analytical husbands. Bergman just wants to act, so contracts and money disputes just do not interest her.
David O. Selznick, out of a pack of interested producers, is the one that finally convinces Petter and Ingrid that for her career to flourish she needs to come to Hollywood. The American public falls in love with her. They respect her, look up to her, and sees her not only as a desirable woman, but as a loving and devoted wife.
That all comes crashing down in 1950.
The camera and her public adored her.
Ingrid has affairs, and most of them Petter finds out about but always forgives her. Maybe out of love, but maybe more likely that practical side of him realizes that she is a big star with big earning potential. Of course there is their daughter Pia to consider as well.
Ingrid sends a letter to a director she admires.
That innocent letter from an admiring actress to the neorealist Italian director touches off a firestorm that will forever alter her public perception and have a detrimental impact on her career that takes years to repair. Rossellini casts her for the movie Stromboli, and during the filming they begin a torrid affair. This one is different than her other affairs.
She becomes pregnant.
Rossellini is married as well, but he is already known as one of the bad boys of cinema, so knocking up a pretty Swedish actress only adds to his legend. Ingrid is not to be so lucky. Once the press discovers she is pregnant, not by her husband, but...gad...by an Italian director, her image as “the good girl of film” is finished. This results in six years of banishment from Hollywood. She has benefited from her image with the public. People packed movie theaters to see her films because of who they perceived her to be. Once they discover that she isn’t who they thought she was, the condemnation is harsh and unrelenting. People feel fooled. It would still be scandalous today, but certainly nothing like 1950 when even the thought of a woman abandoning her husband and her child to run off with another man was considered worse than murder. I think a lot of the backlash was certainly based on a sexist morality, but also was based out of a fear that other women would get the idea that they could leave their husbands and find a new life.
To make matters worse she marries Rossellini, and he prefers her home and pregnant. He discourages her from working, and even when he does let her work as an actress, he is hypercritical of the script, the director, and her performance. She went from one form of repression with Petter to a much worse form, in my opinion. After reading this biography, I’m no fan of Rossellini, but he did contribute to giving the world the lovely Isabella Rossellini.
A Comparison of mother (Ingrid) and daughter(Isabella). The resemblance is striking.
One of the themes that Donald Spoto has to address throughout the book is Ingrid’s relationship with her children. Especially in America, the expectation for a woman is to give up everything for her children. Ingrid certainly feels guilty that she isn’t more available for her children, especially Pia. When she is with them, she is the best of mothers, totally devoted to them and not letting anything intrude on their time together, but then due to her working schedule, she is gone for long periods of time. She isn’t able to see Pia for a long stretch of time simply because Petter makes that very difficult. It is hard for her to leave Europe and come to America with the Scarlet A blazing on her chest.
In the 1950s Ingrid’s parenting skills would have been seen as irresponsible. I believe now, most women are discovering that they must have a balance. Not necessarily always to have a career, but to have something that they do for themselves.
Ingrid returns to Hollywood in 1956 with a bang by starring in Anastasia which wins her a second Academy Award. She has finally been forgiven. The price is a large one, not only for Ingrid but for her true fans as well. It is tragic to lose those prime years of her life to play the role of a wife. It is easy to hide for a while because she is also having to contend with feeling ostracized from the world, but soon her hunger to perform overrides all other concerns. Who knows what wonderful Ingrid performances would exist for us to enjoy today if she had been allowed to continue to work during that period.
There is some relief for Ingrid to shed the “good girl” image. It is a lot to live up to, and ultimately she proves all too human. We see some actresses today going to great lengths to transition from child stars to being seen as full grown women. Ingrid is a hearty drinker, a heavy smoker, and a woman who likes a good party. She also has a sweet tooth that sometimes stretches her figure to proportions unflattering under the unflinching gaze of the camera.
That key in Ingrid’s hand is the key from the movie Notorious. Cary Grant stole it from the set and later gave it to Ingrid when she was going through some troubling times. Later Ingrid gave it to Hitchcock during a tribute being held for his eightieth birthday.
I first met Ingrid, like most people, in Casablanca. She never really understood what all the excitement was about that film. It certainly wasn’t a role that required much from her, but the script of course, the dialogue especially, is what makes that film so memorable for many of us. She is wonderful in Gaslight, but I think my favorite film of hers these days is the Alfred Hitchcock film Notorious. She made three films with Hitch. The other two were Spellbound with Gregory Peck (she had a little fling with Peck during the filming), and the difficult to watch Under Capricorn. Hitch left her with some advice that saved many future directors a lot of trouble with Ingrid.
“I said, "I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion." And he [Hitchcock] sat there and said, "Ingrid, fake it!" Well, that was the best advice I've had in my whole life, because in all the years to come there were many directors who gave me what I thought were quite impossible instructions and many difficult things to do, and just when I was on the verge of starting to argue with them, I heard his voice coming to me through the air saying, "Ingrid, fake it!" It saved a lot of unpleasant situations and waste of time.”
She developed breast cancer in 1974 and battled the disease until 1982. She took it well, knowing she was going die. Her positive attitude allowed her to make the most out of the short time she had left. “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.”
[image error]
This book was read over a long period of time not due to any failing of the subject matter or the writer. I have to drive long distances for business trips, and sometimes I also travel for pleasure. When my wife could go with me, she grabbed the Ingrid Bergman biography to read to me as I drove. We plan to continue this tradition with other Hollywood biographies. We both enjoy learning about the Golden Age of Hollywood. While listening to her read, the miles went by at a faster clip. We also had the added bonus of discussing revelations as we discovered them together; this contributed to the enjoyment of the book. This book and the method with which it was read are highly recommended.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at: https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
― Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid at age fourteen.
Ingrid’s mother, Frieda, dies when she is only two years old. Her father, Justus, is an interesting man, an artist, but also a man obsessed with cameras and video. He borrows a video camera for each of Ingrid’s birthdays, and from what people have commented from looking at those old films, Ingrid is in love with the camera and the camera is in love with her. She knows from a young age that she wants to be an actress. Her father has other dreams for her. He hopes she’ll be an opera star. I have a feeling that whatever Ingrid Bergman had decided to do with her life she would have been committed to being successful. Unfortunately, Justus dies when she is thirteen, so he never has the opportunity to even see the beginning of what would become a monumental career.
In 1937, she marries Petter Lindström, a dentist who is studying to become a neurosurgeon. He is a scientist and approaches life with a practicality that sometimes jars with the emotions of his artist wife. He negotiates all her contracts. He is sometimes seen as too controlling, especially by producers who find it easier to make deals with actresses than their analytical husbands. Bergman just wants to act, so contracts and money disputes just do not interest her.
David O. Selznick, out of a pack of interested producers, is the one that finally convinces Petter and Ingrid that for her career to flourish she needs to come to Hollywood. The American public falls in love with her. They respect her, look up to her, and sees her not only as a desirable woman, but as a loving and devoted wife.
That all comes crashing down in 1950.
The camera and her public adored her.
Ingrid has affairs, and most of them Petter finds out about but always forgives her. Maybe out of love, but maybe more likely that practical side of him realizes that she is a big star with big earning potential. Of course there is their daughter Pia to consider as well.
Ingrid sends a letter to a director she admires.
Dear Mr. Rossellini,
I saw your films Open City and Paisan, and enjoyed them very much. If you need a Swedish actress who speaks English very well, who has not forgotten her German, who is not very understandable in French, and who in Italian knows only "ti amo," I am ready to come and make a film with you.
Ingrid Bergman
That innocent letter from an admiring actress to the neorealist Italian director touches off a firestorm that will forever alter her public perception and have a detrimental impact on her career that takes years to repair. Rossellini casts her for the movie Stromboli, and during the filming they begin a torrid affair. This one is different than her other affairs.
She becomes pregnant.
Rossellini is married as well, but he is already known as one of the bad boys of cinema, so knocking up a pretty Swedish actress only adds to his legend. Ingrid is not to be so lucky. Once the press discovers she is pregnant, not by her husband, but...gad...by an Italian director, her image as “the good girl of film” is finished. This results in six years of banishment from Hollywood. She has benefited from her image with the public. People packed movie theaters to see her films because of who they perceived her to be. Once they discover that she isn’t who they thought she was, the condemnation is harsh and unrelenting. People feel fooled. It would still be scandalous today, but certainly nothing like 1950 when even the thought of a woman abandoning her husband and her child to run off with another man was considered worse than murder. I think a lot of the backlash was certainly based on a sexist morality, but also was based out of a fear that other women would get the idea that they could leave their husbands and find a new life.
To make matters worse she marries Rossellini, and he prefers her home and pregnant. He discourages her from working, and even when he does let her work as an actress, he is hypercritical of the script, the director, and her performance. She went from one form of repression with Petter to a much worse form, in my opinion. After reading this biography, I’m no fan of Rossellini, but he did contribute to giving the world the lovely Isabella Rossellini.
A Comparison of mother (Ingrid) and daughter(Isabella). The resemblance is striking.
One of the themes that Donald Spoto has to address throughout the book is Ingrid’s relationship with her children. Especially in America, the expectation for a woman is to give up everything for her children. Ingrid certainly feels guilty that she isn’t more available for her children, especially Pia. When she is with them, she is the best of mothers, totally devoted to them and not letting anything intrude on their time together, but then due to her working schedule, she is gone for long periods of time. She isn’t able to see Pia for a long stretch of time simply because Petter makes that very difficult. It is hard for her to leave Europe and come to America with the Scarlet A blazing on her chest.
In the 1950s Ingrid’s parenting skills would have been seen as irresponsible. I believe now, most women are discovering that they must have a balance. Not necessarily always to have a career, but to have something that they do for themselves.
Ingrid returns to Hollywood in 1956 with a bang by starring in Anastasia which wins her a second Academy Award. She has finally been forgiven. The price is a large one, not only for Ingrid but for her true fans as well. It is tragic to lose those prime years of her life to play the role of a wife. It is easy to hide for a while because she is also having to contend with feeling ostracized from the world, but soon her hunger to perform overrides all other concerns. Who knows what wonderful Ingrid performances would exist for us to enjoy today if she had been allowed to continue to work during that period.
There is some relief for Ingrid to shed the “good girl” image. It is a lot to live up to, and ultimately she proves all too human. We see some actresses today going to great lengths to transition from child stars to being seen as full grown women. Ingrid is a hearty drinker, a heavy smoker, and a woman who likes a good party. She also has a sweet tooth that sometimes stretches her figure to proportions unflattering under the unflinching gaze of the camera.
That key in Ingrid’s hand is the key from the movie Notorious. Cary Grant stole it from the set and later gave it to Ingrid when she was going through some troubling times. Later Ingrid gave it to Hitchcock during a tribute being held for his eightieth birthday.
I first met Ingrid, like most people, in Casablanca. She never really understood what all the excitement was about that film. It certainly wasn’t a role that required much from her, but the script of course, the dialogue especially, is what makes that film so memorable for many of us. She is wonderful in Gaslight, but I think my favorite film of hers these days is the Alfred Hitchcock film Notorious. She made three films with Hitch. The other two were Spellbound with Gregory Peck (she had a little fling with Peck during the filming), and the difficult to watch Under Capricorn. Hitch left her with some advice that saved many future directors a lot of trouble with Ingrid.
“I said, "I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion." And he [Hitchcock] sat there and said, "Ingrid, fake it!" Well, that was the best advice I've had in my whole life, because in all the years to come there were many directors who gave me what I thought were quite impossible instructions and many difficult things to do, and just when I was on the verge of starting to argue with them, I heard his voice coming to me through the air saying, "Ingrid, fake it!" It saved a lot of unpleasant situations and waste of time.”
She developed breast cancer in 1974 and battled the disease until 1982. She took it well, knowing she was going die. Her positive attitude allowed her to make the most out of the short time she had left. “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.”
[image error]
This book was read over a long period of time not due to any failing of the subject matter or the writer. I have to drive long distances for business trips, and sometimes I also travel for pleasure. When my wife could go with me, she grabbed the Ingrid Bergman biography to read to me as I drove. We plan to continue this tradition with other Hollywood biographies. We both enjoy learning about the Golden Age of Hollywood. While listening to her read, the miles went by at a faster clip. We also had the added bonus of discussing revelations as we discovered them together; this contributed to the enjoyment of the book. This book and the method with which it was read are highly recommended.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at: https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
March 5, 2017
The Publisher Says: Ingrid Bergman's dramatic story is as compelling as any of the women she portrayed in dozens of memorable movies and plays, an impressive list that includes "Intermezzo, The Bells of St. Mary's, Spellbound, Notorious, Anastasia, Hedda Gabler" and" A Woman Called Golda." Whether acting the role of saint or sinner, Bergman found in her characters the extremes of her own devoted and passionate nature. This riveting biography takes readers from her blighted childhood in Sweden to her time in Nazi Germany; from the golden age of Hollywood to her status as an international star on the stages and screens of Europe and America; from the time she was branded "an apostle of degradation" to the twilight of her life, when she endured a tragic final illness with grace and courage.
The supporting cast in her life story is a veritable International Who's Who, and includes, among many others, David O. Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock, Roberto Rossellini, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Howard Hughes, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, John Gielgud, Yul Brynner and Robert Capa.
"Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman" is the epic biography of a great actress who not only altered the shape of international celebrity but also significantly changed the world's ideas about what a woman could be.
My Review: The subtitle says it all. For those who might be unfamiliar with Planet Earth, Ingrid Bergman was a stunningly beautiful film and stage actress of the 1930s to the 1980s. Donald Spoto, the author, will celebrate his 70th birthday this year (2011); he was a monk, a teacher, and then a pop-culture apologist/celebrist/analyst with some 20 celebrity biographies to his credit, plus several books on Christian/mystical themes.
Preston Sturges. Alfred Hitchcock. Grace Kelly. Miss Bergman. Diana, Princess of Wales. All subjects of Spoto's apparently unstoppable urge to biographize, expressed over the past 35-plus years. So look at that list: Is this author gay? Oh my goodness, yes. Gladly and openly so.
I start out each book, then, with a very strong connection to the author. He's One Of Mine. Small moments that might slip past a non-gay reader are here, smirking at me. I *love* that sense of being in on the joke. And that right there? That's the reason people read celebrity bios. They're in the know, they're totally equipped with gossip material, they are Inquiring Minds that are now sated. It's fun. It's harmless. It's hugely profitable.
Well....
IS it fun? For readers of the better quality books about figures of their personal interest, yes...for the fussbudgetty writers, probably...for the cooperative subjects, maybe. At any point in that chain, whether it be a writer whose passion for organizing and categorizing gives out before the job is done, finishing this type of fact-checking nightmare of a book can be awful, and not to mention the bliss and heaven of a source recanting important testimony! Or a cooperative subject who turns uncooperative!
Harmless? Hardly. Harmful in the extreme. We The People do *not* have the right to know what, for example, Ingrid Bergman felt in her last days on this earth as she slowly and painfully died of metastatic breast cancer. That her friends and family cooperated with Spoto, as Bergman herself had in a different context (a series of interviews about Alfred Hitchcock gave birth to this bio of Bergman, because she was very forthcoming with the author), does not absolve the reader of such a book as this of a defensible charge of prurience, and passive or active participation in a cultural trend that leaves those who are not resolutely anonymous with no zone of privacy anywhere ever. Contemplate that for a few seconds. What a horrifying thought. So spend that $30 and feel entitled to ALL THE DIRT!! The dirtier, the better. Then imagine that it's *your* life under this scrutiny.
Profits are made in stacks, for sure and certain, because the books keep a-comin'. Spoto alone has published 27 books to date. The publishers aren't in the charity game, so they're minting the spondulix or there wouldn't be any more.
Okay, all that said...this book was a blast! It gossiped my ears off for two whole days and the pictures were so cool! I loved the evocation of some of my favorite actors and movies and learned interesting new stuff about them all.
I admit it: I am part of the problem. But I have a smile on my face!
The supporting cast in her life story is a veritable International Who's Who, and includes, among many others, David O. Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock, Roberto Rossellini, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Howard Hughes, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, John Gielgud, Yul Brynner and Robert Capa.
"Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman" is the epic biography of a great actress who not only altered the shape of international celebrity but also significantly changed the world's ideas about what a woman could be.
My Review: The subtitle says it all. For those who might be unfamiliar with Planet Earth, Ingrid Bergman was a stunningly beautiful film and stage actress of the 1930s to the 1980s. Donald Spoto, the author, will celebrate his 70th birthday this year (2011); he was a monk, a teacher, and then a pop-culture apologist/celebrist/analyst with some 20 celebrity biographies to his credit, plus several books on Christian/mystical themes.
Preston Sturges. Alfred Hitchcock. Grace Kelly. Miss Bergman. Diana, Princess of Wales. All subjects of Spoto's apparently unstoppable urge to biographize, expressed over the past 35-plus years. So look at that list: Is this author gay? Oh my goodness, yes. Gladly and openly so.
I start out each book, then, with a very strong connection to the author. He's One Of Mine. Small moments that might slip past a non-gay reader are here, smirking at me. I *love* that sense of being in on the joke. And that right there? That's the reason people read celebrity bios. They're in the know, they're totally equipped with gossip material, they are Inquiring Minds that are now sated. It's fun. It's harmless. It's hugely profitable.
Well....
IS it fun? For readers of the better quality books about figures of their personal interest, yes...for the fussbudgetty writers, probably...for the cooperative subjects, maybe. At any point in that chain, whether it be a writer whose passion for organizing and categorizing gives out before the job is done, finishing this type of fact-checking nightmare of a book can be awful, and not to mention the bliss and heaven of a source recanting important testimony! Or a cooperative subject who turns uncooperative!
Harmless? Hardly. Harmful in the extreme. We The People do *not* have the right to know what, for example, Ingrid Bergman felt in her last days on this earth as she slowly and painfully died of metastatic breast cancer. That her friends and family cooperated with Spoto, as Bergman herself had in a different context (a series of interviews about Alfred Hitchcock gave birth to this bio of Bergman, because she was very forthcoming with the author), does not absolve the reader of such a book as this of a defensible charge of prurience, and passive or active participation in a cultural trend that leaves those who are not resolutely anonymous with no zone of privacy anywhere ever. Contemplate that for a few seconds. What a horrifying thought. So spend that $30 and feel entitled to ALL THE DIRT!! The dirtier, the better. Then imagine that it's *your* life under this scrutiny.
Profits are made in stacks, for sure and certain, because the books keep a-comin'. Spoto alone has published 27 books to date. The publishers aren't in the charity game, so they're minting the spondulix or there wouldn't be any more.
Okay, all that said...this book was a blast! It gossiped my ears off for two whole days and the pictures were so cool! I loved the evocation of some of my favorite actors and movies and learned interesting new stuff about them all.
I admit it: I am part of the problem. But I have a smile on my face!
May 19, 2010
Does everyone adore Ingrid Bergman?
Donald Spoto certainly does. He knew her in life and was obviously smitten. This book is filled with descriptions of her generosity of spirit, her warmth, her charm and inner radiance. She may have been the most saintly actress ever to exist. In fact such was her extreme goodness that every criticism ever made of her is easily refuted: she cheated on her first husband (the marriage was dead anyway and besides her husband behaved worse than she did); she scandalised America by running off with Roberto Rossellini (actually America had built up – ahem – a far too saintly image of her, and beside, once again her first husband behaved worse than she did); she was not a brilliant mother (true, her view of motherhood was not typical and did tend to take second place to her career, but no mother has ever loved or cared for her children more); making a film in 1938 Germany and joining her indoctrinated Aunt in Nazi salutes showed a great lack of social and political awareness (okay, this is true but Ingrid was an artist primarily interested in her art and not worldly at all, besides she later made up for it by playing Golda Meir).
[Interestingly that lack of social awareness is the same justification used for P.G. Wodehouse’s missteps during the war. I don’t doubt it, but do find it interesting that there are writers and actors so wrapped up and cosseted in their work that they fail to notice a little thing like Nazi-ism springing up around them.:]
Now I never knew Ingrid Bergman and so maybe she was as wonderful as this biography suggests (certainly men seem to have fallen in love with her wherever she went). But sometimes this book reads like hagiography, and Bergman – for all her patience, grace and wonderful goodness – doesn’t quite feel like a real person in the story of her own life.
It’s at its best when dealing with the fall out of the Rossellini scandal, but mostly just moves with a swift and professional lack of excitement through her films, her plays and her love affairs. It does however leave one with a desire to watch some Ingrid Bergman movies, and that can’t be a bad thing.
Donald Spoto certainly does. He knew her in life and was obviously smitten. This book is filled with descriptions of her generosity of spirit, her warmth, her charm and inner radiance. She may have been the most saintly actress ever to exist. In fact such was her extreme goodness that every criticism ever made of her is easily refuted: she cheated on her first husband (the marriage was dead anyway and besides her husband behaved worse than she did); she scandalised America by running off with Roberto Rossellini (actually America had built up – ahem – a far too saintly image of her, and beside, once again her first husband behaved worse than she did); she was not a brilliant mother (true, her view of motherhood was not typical and did tend to take second place to her career, but no mother has ever loved or cared for her children more); making a film in 1938 Germany and joining her indoctrinated Aunt in Nazi salutes showed a great lack of social and political awareness (okay, this is true but Ingrid was an artist primarily interested in her art and not worldly at all, besides she later made up for it by playing Golda Meir).
[Interestingly that lack of social awareness is the same justification used for P.G. Wodehouse’s missteps during the war. I don’t doubt it, but do find it interesting that there are writers and actors so wrapped up and cosseted in their work that they fail to notice a little thing like Nazi-ism springing up around them.:]
Now I never knew Ingrid Bergman and so maybe she was as wonderful as this biography suggests (certainly men seem to have fallen in love with her wherever she went). But sometimes this book reads like hagiography, and Bergman – for all her patience, grace and wonderful goodness – doesn’t quite feel like a real person in the story of her own life.
It’s at its best when dealing with the fall out of the Rossellini scandal, but mostly just moves with a swift and professional lack of excitement through her films, her plays and her love affairs. It does however leave one with a desire to watch some Ingrid Bergman movies, and that can’t be a bad thing.
July 10, 2010
I have loved Ingrid Bergman from a very early age and have been dazzled by her since. I have done everything in my power to read and watch any and everything that she has ever touched with great joy. I was in awe of this book; the accuracy, the detail, the complete knowledge from early on until her sorrowful passing, that I would tell any fan or even a history collector to eat up this wonderfully written and illustrated life of a true born star. I have read it over and over again. I am inspired by her courage and perseverance. Ingrid is a wonderful example for many of us of how to hold 'ones head up high' in the face of adversity and carry on with pride. I love this book so very much and would encourage it to be read and would wish it to be publicized again for our upcoming generation of girls to know and love her as I have along with so many others.
August 29, 2012
This is a dreadfully written book and so incredibly dull! I am a great Bergman fan and saw all the good reviews so thought it must be good. I managed to plough through half of it then couldn't stand any more of that guff so gave up and went back to reading Ingrid Bergmans autobiography. Stay away from this book and stick to her own autobiography if you want to read about Ingrid Bergman.
March 8, 2015
Too cheesy for my taste and there was no new info about Ingrid in it. Half of the book is speculations and jumping to conclusions instead of real facts. Also, it's too personal, it's not a biography but rather a declaration of love toward ms Bergman. Which is fine by me because i feel the same way, but still, Spoto should have sticked more to the facts and sent his imagination to a holiday. It took me soo long to finish the book and i am a devoted Ingrid Bergman fan!
January 6, 2016
This just concluded year was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ingrid Bergman, one of Hollywood's great stars. In his biography, Donald Spoto, who has chronicled the lives of many in the entertaiment industry, chooses Notorious as his title. It is, of course, one of Bergman's greatest pictures, but it also serves Spoto's purpose in another area: for a tmie, Bergman was one of the most reviled figures in America.
She was born in Sweden in 1915 and orphaned at an early age, raised by aunts (one of whom was German and an ardent Nazi). She attended drama school and was an almost instant success. She became a star of Swedish films and one of them, Intermezzo, became a hit in the U.S., attracting the attention of producer David O. Selznick, who signed her to a contract.
While reading this section, one is forced to remember how things used to be: Selznick had exclusive rights to her. He could loan her out to other studios, but she worked only when he said and doing what he said. Also, Bergman had married a dentist, Petter Lindstrom, who negotiated all her business dealings. She had virtually no say over her career.
Over the decade of the 1940s she became a superduperstar. Of course, there was Casablanca. Bergman wrote to a friend: "'The picture is called Casablanca and I really don't know what it's all about.'" Despite the film's unprecedented success, Bergman did not enjoy making it: "Ingrid, who turned in a haunting performance, was miserable during the entire production, and no one had the remotest idea that the picture would become one of the most popular and enduring films in American history."
Other hits that decade were Gaslight, for which she won an Academy Award, The Bells of St. Mary's, in which she plays a nun, Spellbound, and the aforementioned Notorious, which Spoto concludes is her greatest film. Spoto notes: "It is no exaggeration to maintain that Ingrid Bergman was at this time the least controversial, most beloved celebrity in America. Indeed, the entire Western world was hurrying to add her name to the list of those most idolized and honored."
But Bergman's marriage to Lindstrom, mostly due to separation and separate lives, had calcified. She had affairs with photographer Robert Capa and musician Larry Adler. One day she went to the cinema and saw Rome: Open City, the groundbreaking film by Roberto Rossellini. She wrote him, offering her services as an actress. He was eager to take her up on it. She ended up, a few years later, leaving Lindstrom (and her daughter, Pia) to take up with Rossellini, and bore him an illegitimate child. The effect in America was catastrophic. Legions of decency everywhere denounced her, she was even pilloried on the floor of the U.S. Congress. Her career in Hollywood was over.
She made films with Rossellini, and had twin daughters with him (Isabella Rossellini one of them). She did a lot of stage work in Europe, and slowly attitudes changed. She was approached to do a film about Anastasia, who claimed to be the daughter of the Czar. By the time the film was released, all was forgiven, and Bergman won another Oscar.
Eventually the romance and marriage with Rossellini, who was jealous and a brute, fizzled out. But she had one more marriage, and several more triumphs as an actress, including the long-awaited teaming with Ingmar Bergman in Autumn Sonata and her last role, in a television movie as Golda Meir. By this time she was ravaged with cancer (she was a heavy smoker).
Bergman died in 1982, on her 67th birthday. Spoto notes: "Yes, it had been a good life: in seven countries and in five languages, Ingrid had appeared in forty-six movies, had made eleven stage and five television appearances, and had won every kind of prize her craft bestows. From the golden girl of Stockholm's stage and screen to the ill and wizened Golda Meir--how could anyone ever explain the sheer radiance of Ingrid Bergman, or her profound artistry?"
Spoto certainly tries. It's clear he is enamored of Bergman, sometimes a little too much. He inserts his opinions far too often. He goes on ad nauseum on how terrible a movie For Whom the Bell Tolls is (it's not bad), but there is a delight as he goes all vicious on the morality police who condemned Bergman (mostly they were American; Europeans, even the Catholic church, couldn't have cared less). But he does get to the bottom of Bergman's gifts: "Ingrid Bergman seemed, in the final analysis, to have no formal technique, and neither an intellectual approach nor a critical analysis attend her preperation. She never partook of learned or pretentious conversations about the psychology of acting...The greatness of her achievements came not from academic analysis or psychological examination but from the rare gift of empathetic and imaginative awareness."
If that weren't enough, Spoto cites dozens of instances in which she acts as a perfect lady, not putting on airs, relatable, approachable, and what might best be termed a good egg. She certainly was a great performer, it's nice to learn she was a good, if flawed, person.
October 2, 2023
Have never been a huge Ingrid Bergman fan...but her life story was an interesting read. She was immensely talented and extremely smart. In her theater and film career, she mastered text in no fewer than five languages! Swedish, English, German, Italian, and French. She performed in plays in each one. Imagine being able to memorize entire scripts and perform live in five different languages!
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March 25, 2011I have seen some of the other reviews, which criticize Mr. Spoto for putting together a book that is too much hagiography rather than biography. After reading it, I see what they are getting at, but I disagree for a few reasons. First, I doubt that it will ever be possible for a biographer to deal with a genuinely nice, polite, considerate human being without critics alleging that the book is “hagiography”. “Real” does not automatically mean “nasty and brutish”—we are not all Thomas Hobbes. Frankly, someone who does believe that is revealing far more about their own life and upbringing than about the subject.
Second, when Spoto gives context for the bad things that Bergman does, he does not explain away the bad conduct—at least, it seemed to me that he did not. He was merely providing the context for her behavior. It was “this is why she did this”, not “this is why it is okay that she did this.” The first is essential, in my mind, for a good biography. Even good people, and certainly the kind of person whose life makes a good subject for a biography, will have actions that are odd, or stupid, or wrong, etc. Like that Texas kid who took the timeout yesterday, I was thinking “what are you doing?!?! Why would you do that?” So too it is with Bergman’s life. For example, Roberto Rossellini was a fat, balding, volcanic-tempered, lazy, good-for-nothing flake of a person. He was as selfish a human being as you are likely to find, and he did not even have the saving grace of being good-looking. So why was she sufficiently attracted to him to leave her controlling, coldfish of a husband? That’s what I wanted to know, and Spoto provided the info.
So far, Petter Lindstrom is a cold, bitter prick, who does not mind scarring his daughter for life, if he can wound his wife/ex-wife while doing so. He is a self-centered chauvanist, and I think I hate him. She left him for Roberto Rossellini, who was worse. She certainly had shitty taste in husbands. Her last husband, Lars Schmidt, seemed to finally be the best friend she’d wished she’d had her whole life. I think it is fascinating to see how much unmarried sex these movie stars had, even back then. I mean, obviously, that’s the reason she was denounced on the floor of the Senate, and her pictures were banned from theaters across America (mostly in the South). But it ain’t like she was a lot worse than the other movie stars of the day—she wasn’t. She just had a “saint” image that made people feel more betrayed when she was found to be just like everyone else.
I think it did make fairly clear the difficulty in life when you place your priorities upon your career and you make a conscious decision to subordinate your relationships, both with your children and your husband(s), to that career. Sure, it was more public because her career was a public one, but I'm sure there are tons of people out there who had a similar life arch to Ingrid Bergman because they put their job first their whole life.
Personally, I only work so I have money to pay for food and heat. If I were rich, I'd spend all my time with my wife and kids.
Second, when Spoto gives context for the bad things that Bergman does, he does not explain away the bad conduct—at least, it seemed to me that he did not. He was merely providing the context for her behavior. It was “this is why she did this”, not “this is why it is okay that she did this.” The first is essential, in my mind, for a good biography. Even good people, and certainly the kind of person whose life makes a good subject for a biography, will have actions that are odd, or stupid, or wrong, etc. Like that Texas kid who took the timeout yesterday, I was thinking “what are you doing?!?! Why would you do that?” So too it is with Bergman’s life. For example, Roberto Rossellini was a fat, balding, volcanic-tempered, lazy, good-for-nothing flake of a person. He was as selfish a human being as you are likely to find, and he did not even have the saving grace of being good-looking. So why was she sufficiently attracted to him to leave her controlling, coldfish of a husband? That’s what I wanted to know, and Spoto provided the info.
So far, Petter Lindstrom is a cold, bitter prick, who does not mind scarring his daughter for life, if he can wound his wife/ex-wife while doing so. He is a self-centered chauvanist, and I think I hate him. She left him for Roberto Rossellini, who was worse. She certainly had shitty taste in husbands. Her last husband, Lars Schmidt, seemed to finally be the best friend she’d wished she’d had her whole life. I think it is fascinating to see how much unmarried sex these movie stars had, even back then. I mean, obviously, that’s the reason she was denounced on the floor of the Senate, and her pictures were banned from theaters across America (mostly in the South). But it ain’t like she was a lot worse than the other movie stars of the day—she wasn’t. She just had a “saint” image that made people feel more betrayed when she was found to be just like everyone else.
I think it did make fairly clear the difficulty in life when you place your priorities upon your career and you make a conscious decision to subordinate your relationships, both with your children and your husband(s), to that career. Sure, it was more public because her career was a public one, but I'm sure there are tons of people out there who had a similar life arch to Ingrid Bergman because they put their job first their whole life.
Personally, I only work so I have money to pay for food and heat. If I were rich, I'd spend all my time with my wife and kids.
August 7, 2007
A well-researched and detailed account of one of film's best treasures. A graceful but shy Swedish thespian whose natural beauty enabled her to wear no makeup, Ingrid Bergman was, for a time, Hollywood's highest-paid actress. After a stellar rise to cinematic ubiquity, she was pilloried by the U.S. Congress as an adultress and expelled from the country. Not to be stymied, her Oscar-winning performances eventually earned her redemption in the eyes of the American people. Her work set a standard that current actors can only dream of reaching.
In the interest of transparency, I suppose that this rating is less a review of the book itself and more of an appreciation for the life Ingrid Bergman lived.
In the interest of transparency, I suppose that this rating is less a review of the book itself and more of an appreciation for the life Ingrid Bergman lived.
October 6, 2016
There is no doubt that she was a fabulous actress. There is much about her great roles in Internezzo, Gaslight, The bells of St. Mary's, Notorious, Spellbound, Joan of Arc, Anastasia, Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Autumn Sonata and A Woman Called Golda. I knew that there was much controversey about bergan's personal life but the author, Daniel Spoto lays it all out. From her tragic childhood full of death to her introduction to acting in the Swedish cnema and her introduction to hollywood and its pitfalls. There is a good insight into bergman's heart and mind when she decided to have an affair with Robert Rosselini. What I came awy with was that bergman was a troubled woman who wanted happiness and normalcy.
September 20, 2014
İsminden de anlaşıldığı üzere Ingrid Bergman'ın hayatını anlatan bir kitap. Açıkçası bu kitaba karşı karmaşık duygular besliyorum. Ingrid Bergman hayranı olarak söylüyorum (zaten olmasam o kalın kitabı asla bitiremezdim) O yüzden objektif olamayacağım. Zaten biyografilerden pek anlamam. Hatta okuduğum ilk biyografi.
Ancak, o kadar büyük bir emek var ki, saygı duymamak imkansız. Donald Spoto gerçekten de araştırmış. Her şeyi en ince ayrıntısına kadar bize aktarmış. Güzel bir şekilde derlemiş. Ayrıca kitapta Ingrid Bergman'ın hayatının yanı sıra, Avrupa ve Amerikan tiyatrosu ve sineması ile ilgili bir çok bilgi edinmek de mümkün.
not: Donald Spoto da en az benim kadar Ingrid Bergman'ı seviyor olmalı ki o da bazı yerlerde objektif olamamış.
Ancak, o kadar büyük bir emek var ki, saygı duymamak imkansız. Donald Spoto gerçekten de araştırmış. Her şeyi en ince ayrıntısına kadar bize aktarmış. Güzel bir şekilde derlemiş. Ayrıca kitapta Ingrid Bergman'ın hayatının yanı sıra, Avrupa ve Amerikan tiyatrosu ve sineması ile ilgili bir çok bilgi edinmek de mümkün.
not: Donald Spoto da en az benim kadar Ingrid Bergman'ı seviyor olmalı ki o da bazı yerlerde objektif olamamış.
August 21, 2016
A light read, easily and pleasantly digestible in the evenings after long days of difficult work. The reader is ferried down the stream of the life of an Ingrid Bergman who can do no wrong. Although the last few chapters become almost unbearably maudlin, and one half-expects Spoto to throw in a petition to canonize Bergman as a saint, Notorious does not tax the brain much and even kindles interest in a fair amount of otherwise unheard-of cinematography.
I think I was inspired to pick up this book after having completely missed an Ingrid Bergman retrospective at my local indie cinema - chief among them were Gaslight and Autumn Sonata... Until next time!
I think I was inspired to pick up this book after having completely missed an Ingrid Bergman retrospective at my local indie cinema - chief among them were Gaslight and Autumn Sonata... Until next time!
April 2, 2012
Although the author is obviously a huge fan of Ingrid Bergman; he does present a picture of a reallly decent human being who withstood a whirlwind of bad publicity in order to live her life as she chose. Ms. Bergman comes across as one of the world's great actresses whose career always came first in her life. In spite of this fact, which she seemed to regret in the end, her children, ex-husbands and lovers, and friends all had the greatest respect and love for her. She really did "do it her way."
July 31, 2015
The way United States Government and Hollywood handled an artist's individual freedom is notorious,reprehensible.This is inconceivable these days.US media,US politicians,Hollywood production houses boycotted her for no reason.Despite being a Swedish actress she had devoted herself to Hollywood and this is the kind of treatment meted out to her.This exposes real nature of Hollywood. Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
July 16, 2012
Well written and definitely the actress of her era! I guess it is just fun, after seeing nearly all her movies, to find out the stories behind the filming of each. Bergman was no stranger to scandal and it was good to know the full story of her ill-fated love affaris and marriages. One comes to admire even more her greatness and professionalism regardless of the tragedy and misjudgement.
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September 20, 2007I wasn't born yet when Ingrid Bergman scandalized people in the late '40's...but I'd heard it referred to and this book gives the background of her marriages/affairs, besides detailing her movies and theatre roles. My Netflix list has grown!
March 2, 2009
Beautiful pictures throughout including the cover. A lot of emphasis on the early years especially all the losses of loved ones, then it seems to rush to catch up to the rest of her life.
I wanted more on the middle years and later years.
I wanted more on the middle years and later years.
October 25, 2013
A little bit pretentious, but still very well written. Maybe a bit dry.
May 9, 2017
This is an engaging biography that takes the reader through Bergman's career and the marriages and romances that came along with it. Spoto is sympathetic without being sycophantic (mostly) and his judgments of her work reflect the general critical consensus: For Whom the Bell Tolls is a loser, Autumn Sonata is a winner, etc. If you don’t know anything about Bergman, this is a good place to start.
December 21, 2017
This biography did a great job of exploring the life of Ingrid Bergman. It told about her personal and professional life. The author also did a good job of writing objectively about Ingrid. There have been a lot of strong views about her, and in the end, she was just a person who did her best, but made many mistakes along the way.
October 9, 2024
Notorious: The Life of Ingrid Bergman
I enjoyed this tremendously, what a talent. Speaking five languages, playing piano like a pro in 2 pictures. She was recognized as one of the finest actors ever. Then finally forgiven for her divorces, marriages, abandoning children to perform, which was her life. Comedy and drama, she could do it all.
I enjoyed this tremendously, what a talent. Speaking five languages, playing piano like a pro in 2 pictures. She was recognized as one of the finest actors ever. Then finally forgiven for her divorces, marriages, abandoning children to perform, which was her life. Comedy and drama, she could do it all.
October 4, 2017
Five stars for the topic, detail, and subtle support of feminism. I feel the last ten or so years of her life received short shrift, however.
March 13, 2021
It seems this is what Spoto does. This was rather good and helped alot towards understanding the lady.
June 2, 2021
this might be because I’m crazy but reading this alongside Homer made me think about this like the Helen of Troy story.
Obviously different but the honorable husband betrayed? daughter abandoned? the wife bewitched by the guest from the east? the subsequent uproar?
Makes me think of celebrity stories... famous people and characters of myth
Obviously different but the honorable husband betrayed? daughter abandoned? the wife bewitched by the guest from the east? the subsequent uproar?
Makes me think of celebrity stories... famous people and characters of myth
March 6, 2024
Reading about the lives of celebrities, chiefly actors, has been a recent trend for me. Donald Spoto has written several of these. They are deep and rich with detail, but a breezy read. The footnotes are there, but are not slowing you down.
Here's the bio on Ingrid Bergman. She's of course front and center in a lot of classic movies with stars like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper, Charles Boyer and directors like Alfred Hitchcock.
She always focus on her career, sometimes to the detriment of her children or her husband. But an amazing woman - films in five different languages - and solid until the end when cancer did her in.
Here's the bio on Ingrid Bergman. She's of course front and center in a lot of classic movies with stars like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Gary Cooper, Charles Boyer and directors like Alfred Hitchcock.
She always focus on her career, sometimes to the detriment of her children or her husband. But an amazing woman - films in five different languages - and solid until the end when cancer did her in.
September 14, 2021
She is a fascinating woman.
April 18, 2016
I. Think. She. Was. A. Great. Actor. I. Also. Loved. Her. Movies
Want to read
February 7, 2018its inspirating
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