Dear Ingrid,
Happy 94th birthday! Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe your life. You were a woman of amazing talent, beauty, and personality.
I love how no matter what the situation was, you would find somewhere, some circumstance under which to act. Even when you were just a youngster, too little to act on the stage or screen, you enjoyed acting for your father’s home movies. When the public didn’t want your films in America, you found refuge by acting in Europe. Even when you were ill and weak towards the end of your life, you still pulled through and courageously completed Autumn Sonata and A Woman Called Golda. You weren’t just a “star,” into Hollywood for the glamour. You wanted the real deal.
No actor or actress has influenced my life more than you. I’ve seen more of your work than anyone else’s. It’s sort of funny: when I first became interested in classic movies, I knew who you were but wasn’t really interested – yet. And then I saw Notorious. Casablanca quickly followed. As I saw more of your films, you climbed higher and higher on my list of favorite actresses until your reached the number one spot. Since then, I’ve watched several of your fantastic performances. That’s not to mention that I’ve saved more pictures of you to my computer and read more books on you than any other actor or actress… ^^~
Isn’t it strange, the mystery of celebrity? I’ve never known you – sadly, you passed away before I was even born – but I still feel like we’ve met. You don’t seem fake at all, on screen or in interviews. Sometimes, if I’m in a sticky situation or simply feeling down, I wonder what you would have done to make things better. And I tell myself to work harder because you always tried so hard at everything you did. Some days, I tell myself to wear less makeup because Ingrid could wear no makeup at all and still look gorgeous. But above all, you just seem like such a sweet and fun person to be around.
Many people love you for the same reasons: for your beauty and personality, and of course all those performances, with just enough emotion. No underacting. No overacting. Just perfect.
And for that, we miss you…
Bergmania! 