'Here's looking at you kid': Celebrating Ingrid Bergman

Everyone associates Ingrid Bergman's rise to international fame with "Casablanca" (pictured), but she was already a star in Sweden long before that. The actress was born in Stockholm to a German mother and a Swedish father on August 29, 1915, and started her career in the 1930s. She would quickly grab Hollywood's attention.

One her first successful lead roles in the US came with "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), based on Robert L. Stevenson's 1886 novella. Co-starring with Spencer Tracy, she sparkled in the role of Ivy Peterson, who was murdered by the obsessive Mr. Hyde.

In the early 40s she quickly became one of the biggest stars of world cinema. After "Casablanca" in 1942 came the blockbuster "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943), based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. The writer personally handpicked Bergman and her co-star Gary Cooper for the lead roles.

Hollywood's great film directors all wanted the star in their movies. Even the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock was fascinated by the Swedish actress. They made three films together. Bergman was impressive in "Notorious" (1946), where she memorably kissed Cary Grant for over two minutes - skirting a ban on kisses longer than three seconds by turning it into a series of short ones.

In 1949, Ingrid Bergman fell in love with the Italian movie director Roberto Rossellini during the production of the film "Stromboli." Both were already married, and their story shocked the conservative American public and halted her career in the US. She nevertheless married Rossellini and had three children with him.

Bergman starred in six of Rossellini's films. The director was one of the main contributors to the neorealist movement, which revitalized European cinema after World War II by depicting the difficult social conditions in Italy. Though neorealist films typically used non-professional actors, Ingrid Bergman's natural talent adapted well to the style - such as here in "Journey to Italy" (1954).

In 1957, Bergman divorced Rossellini and returned to the US. The now more mature actress took on new challenging roles. In her comeback film "Anastasia," directed by Anatole Litvak, she depicts a suicidal amnesiac who passes off as the daughter of the tsar in post-revolutionary Russia.

Ingrid Bergman wins back the hearts of the American public right away, receiving her second Academy Award with "Anastasia." In 1958, she works again with Cary Grant in "Indiscreet," directed by Stanley Donen.

In the 1970s, Ingrid Bergman progressively withdrew from the film business. Still, in 1978, she offered a memorable performance in "Autumn Sonata," directed by the famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (with whom she was not related). She died in London on August 29, 1982, on her 67th birthday.