Ingmar Bergman: The Genius Who Couldn't Make Marriage Work
He made Scenes from a Marriage — and lived through five of his own.
Key Facts
What Happened
Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish director whose films like The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Persona are cornerstones of world cinema, was married five times and had nine children by six different women. His filmography is obsessed with the complexity of human relationships, the impossibility of true intimacy, and the pain of failed love — subjects he knew intimately from personal experience. His 1973 television series Scenes from a Marriage was so realistic it reportedly caused a spike in Swedish divorce filings.
His marriages followed a pattern. He would become intensely involved with a woman — often an actress or musician he was collaborating with — marry her, father children, and then become consumed by his next creative and romantic obsession. His first wife, Else Fisher, was a choreographer he married in 1943. Then came Ellen Lundström (married 1945), Gun Grut (married 1951), concert pianist Käbi Laretei (married 1959), and finally Ingrid von Rosen (married 1971). The first four marriages ended in divorce; the fifth lasted until Ingrid's death from cancer in 1995.
Between and during these marriages, Bergman had significant relationships with actresses Harriet Andersson, Bibi Andersson, and Liv Ullmann (with whom he had a daughter). Remarkably, he maintained good relationships with most of his ex-wives and former lovers. Colleagues noted that he was 'fantastic at keeping up a good relationship after the romance ended' — a skill born perhaps of necessity, given how many former partners populated his social and professional circles.
The financial and emotional complexity of Bergman's personal life was compounded by the 1976 Swedish tax scandal that led to his temporary exile from Sweden. His estate at death in 2007 was substantial but had been shaped by decades of divorce settlements, child support for nine children, and the Swedish tax system. Bergman's life demonstrates that artistic genius and personal stability are often at odds — and that the cost of creative obsession is frequently borne by the people closest to the artist.
Legal Breakdown: How creative genius and serial marriage intersect — the pattern behind artistic temperament and divorce
Swedish Divorce Law Evolution (1943–1971)
Bergman's marriages spanned a period of significant evolution in Swedish family law. Early in his marriage history, Sweden required grounds for divorce. By the 1970s, Sweden had become one of the first countries to adopt fully no-fault, unilateral divorce. This meant that by the time of his fifth marriage, either party could end the relationship without needing to prove wrongdoing — a dramatic change from the legal landscape of his first marriage.
Child Support Across Multiple Households
With nine children by six women, Bergman faced complex child support obligations across multiple households. Swedish law mandates that all children are entitled to financial support from both parents, regardless of the parents' marital status. Managing support obligations to this many children — across different age groups, with different mothers, and over decades — represents an extreme example of post-divorce financial complexity.
Estate Planning After Serial Marriage
Bergman's estate at his death in 2007 required careful planning to address the interests of five marriages' worth of family members. Swedish inheritance law provides for forced heirship — all children are entitled to a minimum share of their parent's estate. With nine children, this created significant constraints on how the estate could be distributed, illustrating why estate planning is especially critical for individuals with complex family histories.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Serial marriage often follows identifiable patterns — recognizing these patterns is the first step toward breaking the cycle.
- →Supporting nine children across multiple households requires careful financial planning that goes far beyond standard divorce settlement calculations.
- →Estate planning becomes exponentially more complex with each marriage, as the number of potential beneficiaries and legal obligations multiplies.
- →Maintaining good relationships with ex-partners is possible and beneficial for children — Bergman's ability to do this was one of his most underappreciated life skills.
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This article is based on publicly available court records, news reports, and legal analysis. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this content.
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