Bibi Andersson obituary
Actor of great depth and complexity known for her roles in the films of Ingmar Bergman
It is often the fate of any actor who worked regularly for the illustrious Swedish director Ingmar Bergman to be celebrated, above all, for that association. Among this elite ensemble, Bibi Andersson, who has died aged 83, appeared in 10 features and three television films by Bergman, which included such masterpieces as The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957) and Persona (1966).
With Persona, Andersson became internationally recognised as a performer capable of great depth and complexity. Playing Nurse Alma, taking care of Elizabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann), a famous actor stricken with psychosomatic loss of speech, at a remote seaside cottage, Andersson has to deliver most of the dialogue of the film. The spiritual anguish is written on the features of the two leads as they begin to understand one another and exchange identities.