The Birth of Tabloid Journalism: The Ingrid Bergman - Roberto Rossellini Scandal

Tabloid accounts of celebrity drug and sex foibles flood the media today, feeding a national obsession with sleaze. This phenomenon arguably got rolling in the early 1950's with a sex scandal that horrified the staid moral climate of the times, the blatant extramarital affair and subsequent illegitimate pregnancy of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini.

Ingrid Bergman dazzled Americans early in her career. She found a fast track to international success after starring in the Swedish version of Intermezzo in 1936. David O. Selznick was captivated by her talent and charm, and brought her to America to do an English language remake.

Audiences found her to be luminous and magnetic. Her natural beauty was far removed from the dramatically made up faces of familiar European imports like Garbo and Dietrich.

Ingrid Bergman wisely selected her film roles. Intelligent and savvy, she followed one picture after another paired with the biggest co-stars of the day, such as Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca and Gary Cooper in For Whom the Bell Tolls. In 1945, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Gaslight.

The American public's adoration of Ingrid Bergman solidified in 1945 when she played a nun opposite Bing Crosby in The Bells of St. Mary's.

Studio publicists generated and controlled star images in those days and Ingrid Bergman was projected as the perfect, wholesome beauty with an admirable personal life to match her unquestioned talent. The audience was fed a picture of family bliss for Bergman and her doctor husband, Peter Lindstrom, and their daughter, Pia. In truth, Ingrid Bergman had affairs with photographer Robert Capa, several directors and leading men over the years, but in the pre-paparazzi days, no one knew. Bergman herself was rather open and kept extensive personal papers.

The trouble that banished Ingrid Bergman from America's affection began in 1948, when she saw Open City, a movie directed by Roberto Rossellini. Bergman was smitten and immediately decided she must work with him. Bergman and her husband met Rossellini and he was a guest in their home for a time.