Liv Ullmann

Liv Johanne Ullmann was born on 16 December 1938 in Tokyo, the daughter of Norwegian parents. Her father, an aircraft engineer, was working there at the time. During World War II, her grandfather helped Jews escape his Norwegian town and died in Dachau concentration camp. When Ullmann was two, her family moved to Toronto, where her father worked at a Royal Norwegian Air Force base on the Toronto Islands. They later relocated to New York City, where her father died four years after being struck by an airplane propeller, a loss that deeply affected her. Her mother, a bookseller, raised Ullmann and her sister alone. In 1945, they returned to Norway, settling in Trondheim. Ullmann began acting on stage in Norway in the mid-1950s and remained active in theatre throughout her career. She became known for playing Nora Helmer in Ibsen’s *A Doll’s House*. Wider fame came when she started working with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with whom she had a five-year relationship. She acted in ten of his films, including *Persona* (1966), *The Passion of Anna* (1969), *Cries and Whispers* (1972), *Scenes from a Marriage* (1973), and *Autumn Sonata* (1978)—the last of which marked Ingrid Bergman’s return to Swedish cinema. She frequently appeared alongside Swedish actor Erland Josephson, another Bergman collaborator. *Scenes from a Marriage* was originally a Swedish television drama but was later edited into a theatrical feature. She also acted with Laurence Olivier in *A Bridge Too Far* (1977), directed by Richard Attenborough. Ullmann has been nominated for over forty awards, including lifetime achievement honors. She won the best-actress prize three times from the National Society of Film Critics, three times from the National Board of Review, three times from the New York Film Critics Circle, and a Golden Globe. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for *The Emigrants* (1971) and *Face to Face* (1976). In 1972, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for *The Emigrants*. On 25 March 2022, she received an Academy Honorary Award for her “bravery and emotional transparency.”

She made her New York stage debut in 1975, again in *A Doll’s House*, followed by *Anna Christie* and *Ghosts*. A musical version of *I Remember Mama*, composed by Richard Rodgers, closed after 108 performances. She also appeared in the poorly received 1973 musical film *Lost Horizon*. In 1977, *The New York Times* praised her Broadway performance in *Anna Christie*, writing that she “glowed with despair and hope” and was “born for Anna Christie.”

In 1980, Brian De Palma offered Ullmann the role of Kate Miller in *Dressed to Kill*, but she declined due to the violence; Angie Dickinson took the part. In 1982, Ingmar Bergman wrote the role of Emelie Ekdahl in *Fanny and Alexander* for her, but she turned it down, calling the role too sad. She later said this was one of the few things she truly regretted. Ullmann chaired the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival in 1984 and the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, she introduced her daughter, Linn Ullmann, as “the woman whom Ingmar Bergman loves the most.” Linn was there to accept the Prize of Honour on her father’s behalf; she later served on the jury herself in 2011. Ullmann published two autobiographies: *Changing* (1977) and *Choices* (1984). Her directorial debut was *Sofie* (1992), starring her friend and former co-star Erland Josephson. She later directed *Faithless* (2000), a film written by Bergman. It earned nominations for the Palme d’Or and Best Actress at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In 2003, she reprised her role from *Scenes from a Marriage* in *Saraband*, Bergman’s final television film. Her previous screen role had been in the Swedish film *Zorn* (1994).