She starred in “Casablanca”, then caused a huge scandal. She received 14 bags of threatening letters

Ingrid Bergman was an icon of the golden era of Hollywood. She began her career in the early 1930s with appearances in Swedish productions. She quickly gained recognition and left Stockholm. She was brought to America by producer David O’Selznick, who was looking for another Greta Garbo. Hollywood appreciated her skills and extraordinary beauty. Soon, the artist became an international star thanks to her role in the cult “Casablanca” from 1942.

For Ingrid Bergman, acting was life. She starred in “Casablanca” and the whole world got to know her

Michael Curtiz’s film noir classic was supposed to be one of many Hollywood productions, but it delighted subsequent generations and is still a must-see on every movie fan’s list. Bergman played Ilsa Lund, the love interest of Rick Blaine played by Humphrey Bogart. The on-screen couple was supported by viewers around the world, and the acting duo was praised by critics for their authenticity and palpable chemistry between the characters. The role of Ilsa remained the greatest success and most popular role created by the Swedish actress, although it was not for her that she received an Oscar.

Bergman received the most prestigious awards for her film work in 1945, 1957 and 1975. According to the Academy, she deserved it for her role in “The Extinguishing Flame”, “Anastasia” and “Murder on the Orient Express”. “If you took away my acting, I would stop breathing,” Wirtualna Polska quotes the star as saying. However, although work was the most important thing to her, she was not afraid to set boundaries and conditions. She refused makeup, heels, designer clothes and active participation in banquets. At parties, she apparently sat in the corner and knitted.

She got bored with acting in American cinema, wrote to the Italian director and caused a scandal

At the end of the 1940s, Roberto Rossellini, one of the leading creators of Italian neorealism, appeared in the actress’s life. And not by accident. Bergman loved European cinema and quickly became bored with her roles in the Dream Factory. She wrote a letter to Rosselini in which she stated that she was ready to come to Italy and make a film with him. At the end of shooting for the creators’ first joint film, the actress was already three months pregnant. When she announced that she would give birth to a child out of wedlock, public opinion could not come to terms with it. The actress was the wife of dentist Petter Lindström, with whom she had a daughter.

The scandal reached not only the actress’s fans and flooded the front pages of newspapers. It was even discussed in the United States Senate. In 1950, Senator Edwin C. accused Bergman of “an attack on the institution of marriage” and called it “a powerful force for evil.” In the book “Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca – Bogart, Bergman, and World War II” you can read that a total of 14 huge bags of letters were sent to the actress. Most of them contained threats and content filled with psychological violence. Bergman was called “dirty whores” and “bitches”, and the authors of the insults did not mind emphasizing on the same sheets of paper that they were Christians. Religious groups soon began demanding a ban on films featuring “the sinner.”

She was holed up with Rossellini in Italy. She divorced her husband remotely. They recorded wonderful films together that will forever remain symbols of the past century. The marriage divorced in 1957. A year later, Bergman married for the third time. Her next choice was Lars Schmidt, director. The marriage lasted 17 years.

The actress spent her last years alone, she didn’t stop acting, she wanted to get the most out of life because she suffered from breast cancer. The disease also attacked the lymph nodes. According to Wirtualna Polska, the actress’s spine and lungs stopped working. She died in 1982 on her 67th birthday.