A file photo of Bibi Andersson from 1981 (courtesy AFP)
Highlights
- Bibi Andersson is best known for starring in many of Bergman classics
- "She leaves behind a great hole of loss," said daughter Grede Dahlstrand
- She worked from 1951 to 2009 until she was paralysed
Bibi Andersson , the Swedish actress, best known for her roles in legendary director Ingmar Bergman's films, died on Sunday aged 83, her daughter Jenny Grede Dahlstrand told AFP.
Bibi Andersson is perhaps best known for starring in many of Bergman classics including The Seventh Seal(1957), Wild Strawberries (1957) and Persona (1966).
The actress first started working with the director at the age of 15, when she was casted in several commercials for the Swedish soap brand Bris, directed by Bergman.
She had received several awards including the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin international film festival in 1963 for her role in Vilgot Sjoman's (The Mistress) (1962).
From early film credits in 1951, she continued working and starring in movies until 2009, when she suffered a stroke paralysing one side of her body.
Her daughter Grede Dahlstrand said Bibi Andersson had made a mark on many people's lives.
"She leaves behind a great hole of loss for every one of us who had the privilege of being near her," said Grede Dahlstrand.
Jan Holmberg, CEO of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, told AFP that although Bibi Andersson came to be extensively linked to Bergman, she was very much an artist in her own right.
Bibi Andersson often played simple and sometimes poorly written characters, but she "would take those roles and make them something much greater," said Jan Holmberg.
The media, and Bergman himself, often referred to people he worked with as "his" actors and actresses. Bibi Andersson's response was: "I'm my own."
"And that's exactly what she was," Holmberg said.