Isabella Rossellini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Isabella Rossellini
Rossellini at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival
Born	Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (1952-06-18) 18 June 1952 (age 73) Rome, Italy
Citizenship	Italy United States
Education	Hunter College (MA in Animal Behavior)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–present
Spouse(s)	Martin Scorsese ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1982)​ Jonathan Wiedemann ​ ​ (m. 1983; div. 1986)​
Partner(s)	David Lynch (1986–1991) Gary Oldman (1994–1996)
Children	2, including Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann
Parents	Roberto Rossellini (father) Ingrid Bergman (mother)
Relatives	Pia Lindström (maternal half-sister) Renzo Rossellini (paternal half-brother)

Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is a famous Italian actress. She is the daughter of the well-known Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. Isabella is famous for her successful time as a model for Lancôme and for her acting career in American and European movies.

She has been nominated for many important awards. These include an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Isabella Rossellini started acting in the film White Nights (1985). She became very well known for her role in David Lynch's movie Blue Velvet (1986). For this role, she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She also starred in the popular movie Death Becomes Her (1992). More recently, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a nun in the drama Conclave (2024).

She has also appeared in many TV shows. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the film Crime of the Century (1996). She also received an Emmy Award nomination for Chicago Hope (1997). You might have seen her as a guest star in popular shows like Friends and 30 Rock.

Early Life and Family

Isabella Rossellini was born in Rome, Italy. Her mother, Ingrid Bergman, was a Swedish actress. Her father, Roberto Rossellini, was a famous Italian director.

She grew up with her fraternal twin sister, Isotta Rossellini, and a brother, Robertino. She also has a half-sister, Pia Lindström, from her mother's first marriage. From her father's other marriages, she has four more siblings. Isabella had a "liberal Catholic" upbringing.

Isabella spent her childhood in Rome, Santa Marinella, and Paris. When she was five, she had an operation for appendicitis. At age 11, she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves. To fix this, she had a long and difficult treatment. This included painful stretches, body casts, and surgery on her spine.

At 19, she moved to New York City. She went to Finch College and worked as a translator. She also reported for an Italian TV channel called RAI. She decided to live in New York full-time after marrying Martin Scorsese in 1979.

A Career in the Spotlight

Modeling Career

Isabella started her modeling career when she was 28 years old. She was photographed by famous photographers like Bruce Weber and Bill King. Her pictures appeared in top magazines such as British Vogue and American Vogue.

She also worked with many other well-known photographers. Her face appeared on covers of magazines like Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. In 1988, an exhibition of her photographs was held in Paris.

Her modeling success led her to the world of cosmetics. In 1982, she became the main model for the French beauty brand Lancôme. She even helped create a perfume called Trésor in 1990. In 1996, when she was 43, Lancôme decided she was "too old" for the role. However, in 2016, at 63, she was hired back as a global brand ambassador!

In 2004, Isabella also became the first brand ambassador for the Italian cruise company Silversea Cruises.

Film and Television Roles

Isabella Rossellini on location in Berlin in 1992 for the film The Innocent

Isabella Rossellini first appeared in a film in 1976. It was a small role as a nun in A Matter of Time, where she acted alongside her mother. Her first main role was in the 1979 film Il Prato.

After her mother passed away in 1982, Isabella got her first American film role in White Nights (1985). Then came her famous role as Dorothy Vallens in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. She even sang in that movie.

Other important films she starred in include Cousins (1989) and Death Becomes Her (1992). In 1996, she played herself in an episode of the TV show Friends.

In 2003, Isabella had a recurring role in the TV series Alias. She also appeared in the Canadian film The Saddest Music in the World. In 2004, she played the High Priestess Thar in the miniseries Legend of Earthsea. The director said she brought "authority" and "beauty" to the screen.

In 2006, Isabella narrated a TV special about Italy for the Discovery Channel. She also created a short film called My Dad Is 100 Years Old. This film was a tribute to her father, and she played many different characters in it.

Isabella Rossellini at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival

In 2007, she guest-starred in two episodes of 30 Rock. Around this time, Isabella went to Hunter College to study animal behavior. This led to her creating a short-film project called Green ... for an environmental program.

Her series Mammas came out in 2013. It celebrates how animals are mothers. Isabella acts as different animal mothers, like spiders and hamsters. She explained that she wanted to show how diverse motherhood is in the animal world.

Isabella also acted in the film Enemy with Jake Gyllenhaal. She loved the film, calling it "very metaphysical" and a "solid thriller."

In 2011, Isabella was the head of the jury for the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. In 2015, she was also the head of the jury for the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2016, she was cast as Rita Marks in the Hulu series Shut Eye. In 2023, Isabella received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 18th Rome Film Festival.

Stage Performances

In 2004, Isabella acted in an Off-Broadway play called The Stendhal Syndrome.

In 2018, she created a stage play called "smallest circus in the world." This play explores how animals think and feel. Isabella acts as different scientists like Charles Darwin and Aristotle. Her trained dog, Pan, also performs tricks and dresses up as other animals.

She also performed "Link Link Circus" to help raise money for arts centers. In this show, Isabella wears a ringmaster's coat. Her dog, Peter Pan, helps her, and there are puppets and videos. The show uses her childhood toys as part of the set.

Isabella has often been a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.

Helping Others

Isabella Rossellini is very involved in protecting wildlife. She is the president of the Howard Gilman Foundation. This group works to save wildlife, support arts, photography, and dance. She is also on the board of the Wildlife Conservation Network. She received money from Disney to help with her conservation efforts.

She also helps the Central Park Conservancy and supports the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society in Long Island, New York.

Isabella helps train guide dogs for people who are blind. She is a former trustee of the George Eastman House, which supports film preservation. She is also a National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Personal Life

Isabella Rossellini has dual citizenship in Italy and the United States. She can speak Italian, French, and English very well.

She married filmmaker Martin Scorsese in 1979, and they later divorced. She then married Jon Wiedemann in 1983. Isabella has a daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, born in 1983. She also has an adopted son, Roberto, born in 1993.

From 1986 to 1991, she was a couple with filmmaker David Lynch. She was also engaged to actor Gary Oldman from 1994 to 1996.

Isabella has always lived close to her twin sister, Isotta Ingrid, both when they were growing up in Rome and now in New York City.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	A Matter of Time	Sister Pia
1979	The Meadow	Eugenia
1980	In the Pope's Eye	Isabella
1985	White Nights	Darya Greenwood
1986	Blue Velvet	Dorothy Vallens
1987	Tough Guys Don't Dance	Madeleine Regency
	Siesta	Marie
	Dark Eyes	Claudia
1988	Zelly and Me	Mademoiselle Zelly
1989	Cousins	Maria
	Red Riding Hood	Lady Jean
1990	Wild at Heart	Perdita Durango
	Dames Galantes	Victoire
1991	Caccia Alla Vedova	Rosanna
1992	Death Becomes Her	Lisle von Rhuman
1993	The Pickle	Planet Cleveland Woman	Uncredited
	The Innocent	Maria
	Fearless	Laura Klein
1994	Wyatt Earp	Big Nose Kate
	Immortal Beloved	Anne Marie
1995	Croce e delizia	Henriette
1996	Big Night	Gabriella
	The Funeral	Clara
1998	Left Luggage	Mrs. Kalman
	The Impostors	The Veiled Queen
2000	Il Cielo cade	Kathcen
2002	Empire	La Colombiana
	Roger Dodger	Joyce
2003	The Tulse Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story	Mme. Moitessier
	The Saddest Music in the World	Lady Helen Port-Huntley
2004	The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vauz to the Sea	Mme. Moitessier
	Heights	Liz
	King of the Corner	Rachel Spivak
2005	La Fiesta Del Chivo	Urania
	My Dad Is 100 Years Old	Herself
2006	The Architect	Julia Walters
	Infamous	Marella Agnelli
2007	The Last Jews of Libya	Narrator
2008	The Accidental Husband	Mrs. Bollenbecker
2009	Two Lovers	Ruth Kraditor
	My Dog Tulip	Ms. Cavenenini	Voice
2010	The Solitude of Prime Numbers	Adele
2011	Keyhole	Haycinth
	Chicken with Plums	Parvine
	Silent Life	Gabriella
	Late Bloomers	Mary
2013	Enemy	Mother
2014	The Zigzag Kid	Lola
2015	Closet Monster	Buffy	Voice
	Joy	Trudy
2018	Incredibles 2	Ambassador Henrietta Selick	Voice
	Vita & Virginia	Lady Sackville
2019	Preludio- Il Film	Voice
2021	Land of Dreams	Jane
	Marcel the Shell with Shoes On	Connie	Voice
2023	Cat Person	Dr. Enid Zabala
	Problemista	Narrator
	La chimera	Flora
2024	Spaceman	Commissioner Tuma
	Conclave	Sister Agnes
TBA	Silent Retreat	Michelle Keaton	Post-production

Television

Video Games

Awards and Honors

Isabella Rossellini has received many awards for her work. In 1997, she was given The George Eastman Award. In 1998, she earned a special mention at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival for her role in Left Luggage.

In 2013, she was honored with the Berlinale Camera at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Université du Québec à Montréal in 2016.

See also

In Spanish: Isabella Rossellini para niños