When anyone was talking about nepo babies, Isabella Rossellini was one. The stunningly beautiful actress was born in Rome in 1952 to Roberto Rossellini, the renowned neorealist director of Rome, Open City, and Ingrid Bergman, who achieved icon status in Casablanca opposite Humphrey Bogart. Although being married by the time Isabella and her twin sister were born, the two had an affair while Bergman was still married, and the pregnancy that resulted led to Bergman being attacked on the US Senate floor.
She has four siblings on her father’s side and three on her mother’s, as both of her parents were extremely prolific in terms of their romantic relationships. She was treated for her excruciating scoliosis as an adolescent while growing up in Europe. When she was 19, she moved to New York to attend college while working part-time for the Italian television station RAI. It was around this time that she met Martin Scorsese, whose interview she had been tasked with conducting.
While she wed Scorsese in 1979, it took until 1982 for her to land her first English-speaking part. After she and Scorsese got divorced in 1982, she dated David Lynch and Gary Oldman while continuously working as a model and assembling an amazing filmography. Below are her top ten performances, in order.
Big Night (1996)
As Primo and Secondo, two Italian brothers in the 1950s with one night to show that their Jersey Shore restaurant, Paradise, can be a success, Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub appeared in what is considered to be one of the best restaurant movies ever. Gabriella (Rossellini), the wife of Pascal, a fellow restaurateur with whom the brothers have a tense relationship, introduces intrigue to the scene. Louis Prima, a famous singer, has been invited to eat at Paradise by Pascal, who has vowed to do so, but Pascal is unaware that Gabriella is having an affair with Secondo. Rossellini looks at ease as she sneaks around the kitchen with Secondo while rocking a 1950s pixie cut and some stunning clothes.
Blue Velvet (1986)
In Rossellini’s career, the 1986 David Lynch movie Blue Velvet marked a turning point. She was really fired by her agency following the premiere of the movie because it is a notably violent and gloomy neo-noir. Rossellini portrays Dorothy, a lounge singer who is Frank Booth’s scary gangster sex slave (an all-in Dennis Hopper). In this relentlessly violent movie, Dorothy is repeatedly subjected to degrading physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Frank and is effectively kept as a prisoner because Frank kidnapped her husband and son. The critics unanimously complimented Rosselini’s performance, with Janet Maslin stating that “Mr. Hopper and Miss Rossellini are so far outside the confines of regular acting here that their performances are best understood in terms of sheer lack of restraint.”
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn’s performances as Madeleine and Helen, erstwhile friends who fall out after gorgeous actress Madeleine steals Helen’s fiancé Ernest, Bruce Willis, are the main reasons that Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 black comedy Death Becomes Her is so well-known. Helen breaks down, but when they cross paths again seven years later, things are different. Madeleine’s career is in decline, while Helen is now a well-known writer and also in great shape. The cause? Lisle Von Rhuman (Rossellini), a stunning, exquisite woman who claims to be 71 but who, as a result of the potion, seems to be in her 30s, provides the remedy. Rossellini had previously mainly played parts that capitalised on her unattainable, enigmatic beauty, such as in Blue Velvet. This also occurs in this scene, but she gets to embrace a sillier side as Lisle, and she wasn’t ashamed to ask Zemeckis for the part of the lady obsessed with youth, stating, “But I work for Lancôme! I market anti-aging products. I am the ideal candidate.
Green Porno (2015)
The Sundance Channel produced the Green Porno series of short films, all of which starred and were written by Rossellini. The first series of Green Porno focused on animal mating, the second on marine life, and the third examined the disappearance of ocean life. It’s difficult to express how endearing Rossellini is while narrating and donning cheap foam and cardboard costumes to represent a variety of animals. You’ll find yourself learning some interesting information about animals along the way, whether she’s miming the death throes of a bee that just had sex or a hamster in jail for killing her offspring. It kind of has the feel of an elementary school science project, but it’s very entertaining.
Immortal Beloved (1994)
Rossellini played Anna-Maria Erdödy, a noblewoman who welcomed Beethoven (Gary Oldman) into her home after he lost his hearing and was having problems conducting anymore, suffering humiliation at the hands of audiences. Rossellini has the kind of face that begs to be cast in a period drama. Given that Erdödy is the recipient of Beethoven’s full inheritance, he disputes the identity of the titular “immortal beloved” that Beethoven’s buddy is attempting to find after his passing. Nonetheless, she did acknowledge that they had an affair while she was overcome with grief at her son’s passing. She is her usual elegant self in the movie, and after meeting Oldman on the set, they dated for the following three years, allegedly getting engaged.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (2022)
Rossellini’s performance in Green Porno may have been her most endearing to date, but in her role as Nana Connie, Marcel the Shell’s grandma, she really steals the show. Granny Connie adores Lesley Stahl, takes care of Marcel, and tends to her garden. She has a tendency to become forgetful, but after a fall, her condition worsens. Someone with Rossellini’s background delivering a wonderful, warm vocal performance as a loving and sympathetic shell trying to reunite with her family has a certain allure. You’ll wish you, too, had a shell for a grandmother after hearing Rossellini’s wonderful, unusual voice.
Roger Dodger (2002)
As Nick, the wicked, womanising nephew of Roger (Campbell Scott), who has just been spurned by Joyce (Rossellini), who also happens to be his boss, Jesse Eisenberg made his acting debut in the 2002 picture. Roger makes the decision to spend the weekend teaching Nick how to approach ladies, which does not go as planned. The spectator isn’t sure whether Nick still thinks highly of Roger and his cunning ways by the end of the movie after seeing the truth about Roger’s actions. As the self-assured advertising professional Joyce, played by Rossellini, Roger’s defences begin to fray when she refuses to put up with his immature antics.
The Innocent (1993)
This 1993 film adaptation of Ian McEwan’s book, which was directed by John Schlesinger, has Isabella Rossellini as Maria, a German woman who is torn between an English and an American spy (Anthony Hopkins) (Campbell Scott). The movie is set in Cold War-era Berlin in the 1950s and is based on the actual joint espionage mission between the United States and the United Kingdom, Operation Gold, which saw a tunnel constructed under the Russian sector of the city to spy on the Soviet soldiers. Rossellini is a mirror image of her mother in Casablanca, playing her cards close to her chest, donning trench coats and bidding farewell at foggy airports. The complexity of the mission and the love triangle reflect each other in a Hitchcockian smoke and mirrors fashion.
The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
Guy Maddin, a Canadian filmmaker recognised for his avant-garde works, continued that tradition with his 2003 black-and-white picture set in the Great Depression. As Prohibition is about to be ended in the US, Helen Port-Huntley, played by actress Isabella Rossellini, is attempting to market her business, Muskeg Beer. She’ll accomplish this by conducting a competition with a cash award to find the world’s saddest music. Her past is intriguing: Helen had to have her legs amputated after a vehicle accident that occurred when she was involved in a love triangle with Broadway producer Chester and his father Fyodor. In contrast to Fyodor, who can only hope to win Helen back by creating glass prosthetic legs that she can fill with alcohol, Chester later rekindles their relationship. Helen still doesn’t love Fyodor despite her passion for the legs. If there was ever an actress who could pull off Helen as a tragic creature with bleach blond hair, wrapped in fur and sorrow, with beer-filled legs, Rossellini is the one.
White Nights (1985)
In 1985, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines starred in the musical drama that served as Rossellini’s debut on the global stage. The long days alludes to the fact that most of the movie takes place during a Leningrad summer. Hines portrays Greenwood, a tap dancer trying to enter the USSR, while Baryshnikov plays Rodchenko, a ballet dancer attempting to leave the USSR. Despite having a deeply suspicious connection at first, the two guys end up becoming friends. Rossellini portrays Greenwood’s wife Darya, and when she becomes pregnant, Greenwood starts to feel the urge to emigrate with his family from the USSR. Helen Mirren’s role as Rodchenko’s ex-lover is used in an escape plan, while Greenwood stays behind to protect the other characters. Rossellini’s role wasn’t particularly significant, but it was enough to make her famous.
