Inga Tidblad

Inga Sofia Tidblad (29 May 1901 – 12 September 1975) was a Swedish actress born in Stockholm to engineer Otto Tidblad and his wife, Helga, née Krumlinde. She trained at the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school, the Royal Dramatic Training Academy, from 1919 to 1922. Her debut performance there, as Ariel in Shakespeare's The Tempest, drew early recognition from both audiences and critics; director Olof Molander had personally selected her for the role.

Following her graduation, Tidblad joined the Swedish Theatre, where her portrayal of Ophelia opposite Schanke's Hamlet in 1924 marked her breakthrough as a stage star in Sweden. She remained with that company until it burned down in 1925. She subsequently worked at the Vasateatern from 1925 to 1926, the Oscarsteatern from 1926 to 1932, and then at the Royal Dramatic Theatre from 1932 until her retirement from the stage in 1963.

Throughout her career Tidblad was particularly associated with leading female roles in the works of Shakespeare and Strindberg. Her stage credits include Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Rosalind in As You Like It, Portia in Julius Caesar, and the Daughter in Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata. She also appeared as Alegre in Maxwell Anderson's Key Largo in 1940, Mrs. Kenyon in Samson Raphaelson's Skylark in 1943, Beréngère in Robert Boissy's Jupiter in 1943, and Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas' The Lady of the Camellias in 1954. In 1958–59 she performed in Terence Rattigan's Separate Tables at the Vasateatern, and in 1961 she played Queen Christina in Strindberg's Kristina.

One of her most significant stage achievements came in 1956, when she originated the role of Mary Tyrone in the world premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, for which she received the Eugene O'Neill Award that same year. She subsequently brought that production to Broadway in 1962, where she also appeared in Miss Julie.

Tidblad's screen career began with her film debut in Andersson, Pettersson och Lundström in 1923. She appeared in several Swedish silent films during the 1920s, including Norrtullsligan, Mälarpirater, Farbror Frans, and Svarte Rudolf. In 1930 she starred opposite Gösta Ekman in For Her Sake, the first Swedish sound film. Her later film work included Sången om den eldröda blomman (1934), the original Swedish Intermezzo (1936), Flames in the Dark (1942), Det brinner en eld (1943), Den osynliga muren (1944), and Frånskild (1951), the latter directed by Gustaf Molander from a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman. Additional film credits include Kvinnohuset (1953), Enhörningen (1955), and Pärlemor (1961). Her final notable screen role was in Pistolen (1973), for which she was awarded the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in 1974. She also provided the Swedish dubbing voice for the title character in Walt Disney's Pinocchio in 1940 and guest-starred in an episode of the American television series Foreign Intrigue in 1956.

Tidblad was married first to actor Ragnar Billberg from 1923 to 1930, and then to actor Håkan Westergren from 1931 until her death in 1975. She and Westergren had two children, daughter Meg Westergren and son Claes-Håkan Westergren, both of whom became actors. Tidblad died on 12 September 1975.