Ingrid Bergman - Early Years: 1915–1938

Early Years: 1915–1938

Bergman, named after Princess Ingrid of Sweden, was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 29 August 1915 to a Swedish father, Justus Samuel Bergman, and a German mother, Friedel (Adler) Bergman. When she was three years of age, her mother died. Her father, who was an artist and photographer, died when she was thirteen. In the years before he died, he wanted her to become an opera star, and had her take voice lessons for three years. But she always "knew from the beginning that she wanted to be an actress", sometimes wearing her mother's clothes and staging plays in her father's empty studio. Her father documented all her birthdays with a borrowed camera.

After his death, she was then sent to live with an aunt, who died of heart complications only six months later. She then moved in with her Aunt Hulda and Uncle Otto, who had five children. Another aunt she visited, Elsa Adler, first told Ingrid, when she was 11, that her mother may have "some Jewish blood", and that her father was aware of that fact long before they married. But her aunt also cautioned her about telling others about her possible ancestry as "there might be some difficult times coming."

At the age of 17, Bergman was allowed only one chance to become an actress by entering an acting competition with the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. Bergman recalls her feelings during that competition:

"As I walked off the stage, I was in mourning, I was at a funeral. My own. It was the death of my creative self. My heart had truly broken... they didn't think I was even worth listening to, or watching."

However, her impression was wrong, as she later met one of the judges who described how the others viewed her performance:

"We loved your security and your impertinence. We loved you and told each other that there was no reason to waste time as there were dozens of other entrants still to come. We didn't need to waste any time with you. We knew you were a natural and great. Your future as an actress was settled."

As a result she received a scholarship to the state-sponsored Royal Dramatic Theatre School, where Greta Garbo had years earlier also earned a similar scholarship. After a few months she was given a part in a new play, Ett Brott (A Crime), by Sigfrid Siwertz. Yet, this was "totally against procedure" at the school, notes Chandler, where girls were expected to complete three years of study before getting such acting roles. During her first summer break, she was also hired by a Swedish film studio, which consequently led to her leaving the Royal Dramatic Theatre to work in films full time, after just one year. Her first film role after leaving the Royal Dramatic Theatre was a small part in 1935's Munkbrogreven (She had previously been an extra in the 1932 film Landskamp). She later acted in a dozen films in Sweden, including En kvinnas ansikte, which was later remade as A Woman's Face with Joan Crawford, and one film in Germany, Die vier Gesellen ("The Four Companions") (1938).