According to Bergman, the story had its roots in a chance encounter with past collaborator Bibi Andersson in a Stockholm street. Andersson, who was with Liv Ullmann, introduced Ullmann to him. Ullmann placed the meeting in 1964, and said that Bergman recognized her and asked her on the spot if she would like to work with him. He said that an image of the two women formed in his mind; in the hospital, he found an "uncanny resemblance" between the actresses in photographs of them sunbathing. This inspired the beginning of his story, a vision of two women "wearing big hats and laying their hands alongside each other". Andersson said, "Liv and I had worked together before and we were very close". Bergman had been in a romantic relationship with Andersson and was attracted to Ullmann; of "Persona"s conception, Andersson said, "He saw our friendship, and he wanted to get ... inside of it. Involved".