Swedish actress Bibi Andersson passed away Sunday in Stockholm at the age of 83. Andersson is best known as a frequent Ingmar Berman collaborator, she starred in a total of 13 Bergman films.
Born in 1935, Andersson began her career at the Dramaten, Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theatre, performing in various productions there. She continued to perform there throughout her career. In 1955, she began her work with Bergman by playing a small role in Smiles of a Summer Night. She continued working with Bergman throughout the ‘50s, acting in films such as The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries.
Then, in 1963, she won the Silver Bear for ‘Best Actress’ at the Berlin Film Festival for her role in Vilgot Sjöman’s film The Mistress. She truly started gaining global fame with Berman’s 1966 masterpiece, Persona. Andersson played a role that, up to that point, was very against-type. Because of that role and her work in Syskonbädd 1782, Andersson was nominated for ‘Best Foreign Actress’ at the BAFTAs in 1968.
Persona secured her as a force to be reckoned with and she stayed pretty busy throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s. In that time, Andersson appeared in more than 50 films. In 1990 she returned to her roots and began working as a theater director. She went on to direct several plays for the Dramaten.
Andersson is survived by her husband, Gabriel Mora Baeza, and their child.
