The artistic inclinations of Bibi Andersson began to manifest at a young age, with her older sister Gerd Andersson, a ballet dancer at the Royal Opera, providing encouragement and support. This support was instrumental in facilitating Bibi's acting debut in 1951. However, her early endeavors were marked by limited opportunities, with bit parts and commercials comprising the bulk of her work. Her breakthrough role came in 1953, when she appeared alongside Nils Poppe in the film "Dum-Bom".
Subsequently, Bibi was accepted into the acting school of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1954. Her time at the school was marked by a brief but significant romantic relationship with the renowned director Ingmar Bergman. This relationship led her to leave school and join Bergman at the Malmö city theatre, where she performed in productions of plays by August Strindberg and Hjalmar Bergman. Bergman also granted her small and larger roles in his films, including the comedy "Smiles of a Summer Night" (1955),and the critically acclaimed "Wild Strawberries" (1957) and "The Seventh Seal" (1957).
The 1960s saw Bibi receive offers from abroad, with her most notable international success coming in 1977 with the film "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden". Furthermore, during the civil war in Yugoslavia, Bibi was actively involved in various initiatives aimed at bringing theatre and other forms of culture to the people of Sarajevo.