Bibi Andersson

Ingmar Bergman’s…. shall we say complicated relationship with blonde actresses made Alfred Hitchcock look like an asexual with a slight preference for brunettes. Perhaps no actress best epitomised the Berman Blonde than Bibi Andersson. Bergman discovered her when he was reduced to filming TV commercials for soap during an early career downswing, and they went on to work together in 13 films, from Smiles of a Summer Night through to The Passion of Anna. In the majority of roles, Andersson was cast as what Bergman called the “professional innocent”, the girl-next-door blonde who is alternately confused, corrupted or destroyed by the real world. Bergman himself had a good go at destroying Andersson herself: when he was arrested on tax evasion charges in the late 1970s, Andersson was implicated and her time spent being questioned by police and in a prison cell led to a nervous breakdown and an end to her career as a leading lady. She had one attempt at Hollywood stardom – Airport 79. She shouldn’t have bothered.

Anyway, one DDP team, like all right-wing Israelis, knew to write Bibi down on their list for 2019.

Bibi Andersson
11 November 1935 – 14 April 2019
Died aged 83 (unique pick)