Ingrid Bergman

by Grace May Carter

Who was Ingrid Bergman? For much of her turbulent life, the public could not Was this luminous Swedish actress the embodiment of pious devotion as portrayed in her saintly roles such as Joan of Arc? Or was she an unrepentant harlot who abandoned her husband and child to have an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini? In this sprawling biography, Bergman emerges as a devoted artist whose refusal to be a caricature caused her endless trouble - but also produced brilliant performances, from her early role opposite Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca to her profound and final appearance as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. In between, there were four children (including actress Isabella Rossellini), three husbands, and passionate affairs with war photographer Robert Capa, Wizard of Oz director Victor Fleming, and Spellbound co-star Gregory Peck. Over her forty-seven-year career, Ingrid Bergman performed in fifty-five movies - in five languages and seven countries - and eleven stage productions, picking up three Oscars along the way. In the words of one biographer, she was "arguably the most international star in the history of entertainment." And, without a doubt, one of the most misunderstood.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

620 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2016

Reviews

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating life of Ingrid Bergman.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a huge movie watcher but even I have heard of Ingrid Bergman - admittedly I coudln't pick her out of a line up but I know the name. What interested me in this book was the fact it wasn't just a celebrity gossip book but rather covered her whole life. In fact, I finished it feeling like a lot had been only touched upon from her Hollywood years and that there was far more beneath the words than this book told us.

Whilst every actor has "scandals" in their past Ingrid Bergman's are not discussed in any great detail. They are mentioned but in an "in passing" sort of way rather than covering them in great depth. Where it does excel is in her early life before she came to Hollywood and there is a great deal of very informative investigation done in to her childhood and family life. The other thing it does really well is the whole Hollywood Machine and how the Studios had such a stranglehold on the talent - definitely gives the impression that they were a commodity rather than a person.

As much as I enjoyed the book it did feel like an introduction to the actress and it has left me wanting to read some more in depth about certain areas of her life. Bit of an Ingrid Bergman 101.

This review has been a long time coming. I actually read this book between the 25th and 27th July 2020 so my memory is a bit foggy about all the plot lines. Fortunately, I have a notebook where I jot some initial thoughts on the book and an overall ranking so between the book blurb and that I did have a reasonable handle on what I thought at the time of reading.

[Katie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bergman

A positively brilliant book! Her story told clearly and honestly. Much told of her private life as well as chronicling her work. I loved it and highly recommend this terrific read.

[Sue Edgerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses by reading this biography. I really liked Ingrid Bergman from her performances in NOTORIOUS, CASABLANCA & THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S, but I like & respect her even more after reading about her personal life.

[Tracy Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book

I really enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot about Ingrid Burgman. Very informative about her family life and the films she starred in.