L’indimenticabile storia d’amore tra l’attrice svedese Ingrid Bergman ed il regista italiano Roberto Rossellini ha rappresentato anche uno dei grandi scandali di Hollywood. Nel marzo del 1949 durante le riprese di Stromboli (Terra di Dio), cominciarono a trapelare indiscrezioni su una relazione sentimentale clandestina fra il regista e la sua interprete, a cui fece seguito alla fine dell’anno l’annuncio della gravidanza della Bergam. Il loro rapporto destò uno scandalo enorme poiché entrambi erano sposati. Per l’opinione pubblica americana, che fino a quel momento l’aveva considerata un esempio di virtù morale, l’attrice divenne improvvisamente una “adultera”, mentre la stampa la definì “apostolo della degradazione di Hollywood”, montando a suo sfavore una campagna denigratoria senza precedenti. Nel 1950 Rossellini e la Bergman si sposarono ed insieme ebbero tre figli. A scandalo dimenticato, l'American Film Institute ha inserito la Bergman al quarto posto tra le più grandi star della storia del cinema.
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman married doctor Petter Lindstrom in 1937. The couple had one daughter, Friedel Pia. Bergman enjoyed several movie roles in her native land including the 1936 romantic drama “Intermezzo.” American filmmaker David O. Selznik cast her in an English remake of the film and signed her to a multi-year contract. Bergman appeared in several films including “Adam Had Four Sons” (1941), “Rage in Heaven” (1941), “Casablanca” with Humprhey Bogart and Paul Henreid, “For Whom the Bells Toll” with Gary Cooper, and “Gaslight” with Charles Boyer (1944). She was casted as a woman of virtue in roles as a devoted governess, a loyal wife, a woman torn between two men, and a nun. She was praised for her roles in “Spellbound” and “Notorious.” Internationally renowned for her excellent film presence, she tackled the Broadway stage and enjoyed success as “Joan of Arc” in 1948.
It was about that time that she wrote a letter to Italian director Robert Rossellini asking for the opportunity to work in one of his films. Rossellini earned international acclaim for his 1945 war-time classic “Open City” which was made with non-professional actors on the streets of Rome. His next effort “Paisa” was also a major hit. Rossellini cast her in the 1950 movie “Stromboli” and they became involved in an international love scandal; both were married to other people. Bergman became pregnant and she gave birth to Rossellini’s son shortly before her divorce was finalized. She soon married Rossellini, but the public outcry by fans and moralists scandalized her “lady of virtue” image. Her next films with Rossellini fell short of major success. In the interim, she had two more children, daughters Isabella and Isotta Rossellini, before divorcing him in 1956.
Banned by Hollywood for years because of the scandal, she triumphantly returned to American cinema in 1956 with “Anastasia” and collected her second Academy Award. Other film roles followed and she won another Oscar for a supporting role in “Murder on the Orient Express” in 1974. Despite suffering from breast cancer, she continued to work. Her final film was “Autumn Sonata” and her final television appearance was the 1982 movie “Golda,” where she portrayed Israeli leader Golda Meir, winning her an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Bergman lost her seven-year battle with cancer and died, on her birthday, on Aug. 29, 1982 in London, England at the age of 67. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three, Bergman appeared in more than 50 movies. Her daughter Pia Lindstrom became a television reporter and actress and Isabella has appeared in several movies.
