Isabella Rossellini

**Isabella Rossellini** (born June 18, 1952) is an Italian-American actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the now late legendary Oscar-winning Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian neorealist film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as *Blue Velvet* (1986) and *Wikipedia:Death Becomes Her* (1992). Rossellini received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in *Crime of the Century* (1996).
Isabella has three siblings from her mother: her twin sister Isotta Ingrid Rossellini, who is an adjunct professor of Italian literature; a brother, Roberto Ingmar Rossellini, who works in finance; and a half-sister, Pia Lindström, who formerly worked on television and is from her mother's first marriage. She also has four other siblings from her father's two other marriages: Romano (died at age 9), Renzo, Gil, and Raffaella.

## Early life/career

Rossellini was born and raised in Rome, Santa Marinella, and Paris, France. At the age of 13, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. In order to correct it, Isabella had to undergo an 18 month ordeal of painful stretchings, body casts, surgery on her spine using pieces of one of her shin bones (used to add supports for the individual vertebrae without risking foreign body rejection issues), and a recovery from that surgery. Consequently, she has permanent incision scars on her back and shin. Incidentally, her daughter, Elettra, also developed scoliosis when she was a child.

At the age of 19, she came to New York, where she attended Finch College while working as a translator and a RAI television reporter. She also appeared intermittently on Roberto Benigni's Italian comedy show, The Other Sunday. However, she did not decide to stay full time in New York until her marriage to Martin Scorsese (1979–1982). After her marriage to Scorsese, she married Jon Wiedemann (1983–1986), a German model (now a Microsoft executive), and gave birth to a daughter, Elettra. Later, she dated David Lynch, Gary Oldman, and Gregory Mosher.

## Career

### Modeling

At the age of 28, Isabella's modeling career began, when she was photographed by Bruce Weber for *British Vogue* and by Bill King for *American Vogue*. During her career, she has also worked with many other renowned photographers, including Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, Norman Parkinson, Eve Arnold, Francesco Scavullo, Annie Leibovitz, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Her image has appeared on such magazines as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and ELLE. Furthermore, in March 1988, an exhibition dedicated to photographs of her, called Portrait of a Woman, was held at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris.

Rossellini's modeling career led her into the world of cosmetics, when she became the exclusive spokesmodel for the international cosmetics brand Lancôme in 1982, replacing Nancy Dutiel in the United States and Carol Alt in Europe. While there, in 1990, she was involved in product development for Lancôme's fragrance Trésor. Later, in 1995, she worked with the Coty Group and developed her own brand of cosmetics, Isabella Rossellini's Manifesto. However, in 1996, after 14 years with the company, she was infamously removed as the face of Lancôme for being "too old", since she was in her 40s at the time. She is signed to Trump Model Management.

### Films

Rossellini made her film debut with a brief appearance as a nun opposite her mother in the 1976 film *A Matter of Time*. However, she did not truly begin acting until the 1979 film *Il Prato*. She did not become successful with acting until after her mother's death in 1982, when she was cast in her first American film *White Nights* (1985). Nonetheless, she is probably best known for her pivotal role as the nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens in David Lynch's *Blue Velvet,* in which she also contributed her own singing.

Rossellini acted in the 2013 film *Enemy*, with Jake Gyllenhaal, which was shown at the 2013 Wikipedia:Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Rossellini praised the film during a TIFF interview: "I love the subtlety of the film. It reminded me of Kafka. It's very metaphysical, but yet it's also a solid thriller. It made me leap up out of my seat at the end." Rossellini also played the silent film actor Rudolph Valentino's mother in Vlad Kozlov's *Silent Life*, a feature-length version of the director's silent, black-and-white short film *Daydreams of Rudolph Valentino*. Kozlov's film was due for release in 2012, but, as of February 2014, the film has not been officially released.

Other notable film roles include her work in *Cousins*, *Death Becomes Her*, *Immortal Beloved*, and *Fearless''*.

### Television

In 2003, Rossellini had a recurring role on the ABC television series, *Alias*. In that same year, she also appeared in the Canadian film *The Saddest Music in the World*, directed by Guy Maddin. In 2004 she played as the High Priestess Thar in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries *Legend of Earthsea*. In addition, she acted in an Off-Broadway production of *The Stendhal Syndrome*. Furthermore, she became an ambassador for the Silversea Cruise Line, which has her appearing in print ads and on their website.

In 2006, Rossellini was on television for several documentaries. First, she narrated a two-hour television special on Italy for the Discovery Channel's *Discovery Atlas* series, in order to show a glimpse of present-day Italy. In addition, on an episode of the Sundance Channel (a cable network channel founded by actor [[Wikipedia:Robert Redford|Robert Redford) series *Iconoclasts*, which also featured the Segway PT inventor Dean Kamen, she told about her past and what activities she is currently involved in.

In 2007, Rossellini guest starred on two episodes of the television show *30 Rock*, playing Alec Baldwin's ex-wife.

In 2008, Rossellini toured the festival circuit with a series of short films entitled *Green Porno*, which she wrote and co-directed with Jody Shapiro. Each *Green Porno* film is one minute long, and has Rossellini reenacting the mating rituals of various insects.

Rossellini received a 1987 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her role in *Blue Velvet*. In 1997, she received two notable award nominations. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for her role in *Crime of the Century*, and an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her work on the CBS television series *Chicago Hope*.

### Activism/Philanthropy

Outside of acting, modeling, and cosmetics, Rossellini is involved in conservation efforts. She is a board member of the Wildlife Conservation Network. In addition, she is the president and director of the Howard Gilman Foundation, a leading institution focused on the preservation of wildlife, arts, photography and dance. Disney gave $100,000 to her to help with her conservation efforts in those two organizations. She has also helped with the Central Park Conservatory. Furthermore, Rossellini is considered a major benefactor of the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society of Bellport, Long Island, where she is a part-time resident.

Rossellini is also involved in training guide dogs for the blind. In addition, she is a former trustee of the George Eastman House and a 1997 George Eastman Award honoree for her support of film preservation. She is also a National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

### Writing

Rossellini has written three books. In 1997, her self-described fictional memoir, Some of Me, was published. In 2002, she released her second book, *Looking at Me* (on pictures and photographers). In 2006, *In the name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Spirits: Remembering Roberto Rossellini* was published and was accompanied by the Guy Maddin-directed short film *My Dad Is 100 Years Old* (both the film and the book are tributes to her father). In the film, she played almost every role, including David Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock, and her mother Ingrid Bergman.

## Personal life

Rossellini holds dual Italian and United States citizenship.

She was married to Martin Scorcese from 1979 to 1982. After her marriage to Scorsese ended, she married Jon Wiedemann (1983–1986).

She has a daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann (born 1983) and an adopted son, Roberto Rossellini (born 1993).

She has always lived near her twin sister Isotta Ingrid, while growing up in Rome, Italy or residing in New York City.

## References

1. ↑ "Isabella Rossellini". Retrieved on 11 February 2014.
- 18th June, Isabella Rossellini at 60 – The 60th birthday of Isabella Rossellini. Magnum Photos. Retrieved on 11 February 2014.

- "Isabella Rossellini". Retrieved on 11 February 2014. (in Italian)
2. ↑ Vlad Kozlov (15 March 2012). Journalists keep on repeating another journalist's mistake. Isabella Rossellini does not play Valentino's wife, she plays his mother. Retrieved on 17 February 2014. “Journalists keep on repeating another journalist's mistake. Isabella Rossellini does not play Valentino's wife, she plays his mother”
3. ↑ Saibal Chatterjee. "Colourless and silent gems", 18 March 2012. Retrieved on 17 February 2014.
4. ↑ Tim Masters. "The Artist pays homage to Hollywood's silent era", 17 November 2011. Retrieved on 17 February 2014.
5. ↑ Episode 4: Isabella Rossellini + Dean Kamen. *Iconoclasts: change the way you see celebrity*. Sundance Channel L.L.C.. Retrieved on 29 January 2007.
6. ↑ Maureen Ryan. ""Lancôme Celebrates Timeless Beauty With Isabella Rossellini".", Brandchannel, February 23, 2018. Retrieved on May 24, 2020.
7. ↑ Dee Jefferson (4 February 2014). Green Porno: Isabella Rossellini. *Time Out Melbourne*. Time Out Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved on 17 February 2014.
8. ↑ Alex Clark. "Daddy dearest", 11 June 2006. Retrieved on 17 February 2014.
9. ↑ Rossellini, Isabella. "In Defense of Fallaci", 6 November 2001. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
10. ↑ Isabella Rossellini. Retrieved on 22 June 2014.
11. ↑ Roberto Rossellini. Retrieved on 22 June 2014.

## External links

* Isabella Rossellini article at *Wikipedia*
* Isabella Rossellini links at FreeOnes
* Isabella Rossellini biography at the Encyclopædia Britannica
* Isabella Rossellini at the TCM Movie Database