Growing up with seven brothers and sisters wasn't an adventure, but Anita's adventure began when she was elected Miss Sweden in 1950. She didn't win the Miss Universe contest but she got a modeling contract in the US. She quickly got a film contract with 'Howard Hughes' 's RKO that didn't lead anywhere (but Anita herself has said that Hughes wanted to marry her.)

Instead she started making movies with Universal, small roles that more often than not only required her to look beautiful. After five years in Hollywood she found herself in Rome, where Federico Fellini's Dolce vita, La (1960) meant her breakthrough. She stayed in Italy and made around 20 movies during the next ten years, some roles memorable, some to be forgotten. Her two marriages gave her a lot of attention from the press. During the 1970s the roles became less frequent, but she made a marvellous comeback with Fellini's Intervista (1987).