LIV ULLMANN
Name: Liv Johanne Ullmann
Born: 16 December 1938 Tokyo, Japan
Liv Johanne Ullmann (born December 16, 1938 in Tokyo, Japan) is an iconic two-time
Academy Award-, two-time BAFTA-, Palme d'Or-, and Golden Globe-winning Norwegian
actress and the beloved muse of legendary Swedish Academy Award winning director
Ingmar Bergman.
She played lead roles in nine films by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with
whom she has a daughter, Norwegian author and journalist Linn Ullmann. A
consummate psychological actress, she was the object of considerable critical
acclaim during the 1960s and 1970s (awards include three Best Actress prizes
from the prestigious National Society of Film Critics, two from the National
Board of Review, a threesome from the New York Film Critics Circle, and one
Golden Globe as well as a LAFCA honor).
Her work with Bergman, especially in the powerful Scenes from a Marriage, turned
her into a 1970s feminist and cultural icon, as well as one of the most
respected actresses of her time. In addition, her natural and very photogenic
Nordic red-blond beauty, fit well into the 1970s vogue. Ullmann was nominated
twice for an Academy Award (for The Emigrants and Face to Face), and published
two successful autobiographies (Changing and Choices) while out of work in the
late 1970s.
Coincidentally, two of Ullmann's biggest flops were musical adaptations of
classic works. The film version of Lost Horizon was a critical and commercial
disaster, and the Broadway production of I Remember Mama underwent numerous
revisions during an unusually long preview period, then closed after only 108
performances.
Recently, Ullmann has been making a name for herself as a film director too (most
notably with the acclaimed, Bergman-scripted drama Faithless) and could also be
seen reprising her role from Scenes from a Marriage in 2003's Saraband (Bergman's
final telemovie). Faithless was close to be awarded with the prestigious Golden
Palm at Cannes Film Festival, and the female lead, Swedish actress Lena Endre,
won first prize for her performance in this film.
Ullmann was chairing the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. She
introduced her daughter by Ingmar Bergman, Linn Ullmann, to the festival
audience with these infamous words: "Here comes the woman whom Ingmar Bergman
loves the most". (Her daughter was about to receive the Prize of Honour on her
famous father's behalf). In 2006 Liv Ullmann publicly gave up a long-time dream
of making a film based on the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's
House". According to her, the Norwegian Film Fund worked against her and writer
Kjetil Bjørnstad. Australian actress Cate Blanchett as well as British actress
Kate Winslet was intended for lead roles in the movie.
Ullmann narrated the Canada/Norway co-produced animated short film The Danish
Poet, which won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 79th Academy
Awards in 2007.
Name: Liv Johanne Ullmann
Born: 16 December 1938 Tokyo, Japan
Liv Johanne Ullmann (born December 16, 1938 in Tokyo, Japan) is an iconic two-time
Academy Award-, two-time BAFTA-, Palme d'Or-, and Golden Globe-winning Norwegian
actress and the beloved muse of legendary Swedish Academy Award winning director
Ingmar Bergman.
She played lead roles in nine films by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with
whom she has a daughter, Norwegian author and journalist Linn Ullmann. A
consummate psychological actress, she was the object of considerable critical
acclaim during the 1960s and 1970s (awards include three Best Actress prizes
from the prestigious National Society of Film Critics, two from the National
Board of Review, a threesome from the New York Film Critics Circle, and one
Golden Globe as well as a LAFCA honor).
Her work with Bergman, especially in the powerful Scenes from a Marriage, turned
her into a 1970s feminist and cultural icon, as well as one of the most
respected actresses of her time. In addition, her natural and very photogenic
Nordic red-blond beauty, fit well into the 1970s vogue. Ullmann was nominated
twice for an Academy Award (for The Emigrants and Face to Face), and published
two successful autobiographies (Changing and Choices) while out of work in the
late 1970s.
Coincidentally, two of Ullmann's biggest flops were musical adaptations of
classic works. The film version of Lost Horizon was a critical and commercial
disaster, and the Broadway production of I Remember Mama underwent numerous
revisions during an unusually long preview period, then closed after only 108
performances.
Recently, Ullmann has been making a name for herself as a film director too (most
notably with the acclaimed, Bergman-scripted drama Faithless) and could also be
seen reprising her role from Scenes from a Marriage in 2003's Saraband (Bergman's
final telemovie). Faithless was close to be awarded with the prestigious Golden
Palm at Cannes Film Festival, and the female lead, Swedish actress Lena Endre,
won first prize for her performance in this film.
Ullmann was chairing the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. She
introduced her daughter by Ingmar Bergman, Linn Ullmann, to the festival
audience with these infamous words: "Here comes the woman whom Ingmar Bergman
loves the most". (Her daughter was about to receive the Prize of Honour on her
famous father's behalf). In 2006 Liv Ullmann publicly gave up a long-time dream
of making a film based on the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's
House". According to her, the Norwegian Film Fund worked against her and writer
Kjetil Bjørnstad. Australian actress Cate Blanchett as well as British actress
Kate Winslet was intended for lead roles in the movie.
Ullmann narrated the Canada/Norway co-produced animated short film The Danish
Poet, which won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 79th Academy
Awards in 2007.