Isabella Rossellini

Love her. She seems very grounded and shows an appealing sense of humor.

Forgot to add: I don't think she has much range. Worse, she got old, which is an unforgivable sin in Hollywood.

Don't forget her head-turning appearances on 30 Rock. She played Alec Baldwin's character's mercurial and age-appropriate first wife, and they had a simmering feud over the division of assets in their divorce. Artwork, summer homes, and an Arby's franchise in Telluride. But they always managed to have hate sex before they could sign the papers, so it was good comedic fun.

"Oh, dammit, Johnny! You know I love my Big Beef and Cheddar!"

She's not really a fame whore. I think she did the modeling and acting for the cash, not so much because she needs attention.

Rossellini has a good life, interesting and nothing to do w/ Hollywood.

She should have received an Oscar nomination for Blue Velvet. You read that some actor or actress was nominated for a particular role years ago and think "oh yeah, of course", but in reality it doesn't work like that and some do fall through the cracks.

I can watch the scene where she pulls out Liz Lemon's hair a thousand times and never get tired of it.

Have met her three times and she’s by far the nicest celebrity I’ve ever encountered. She’s just lovely. Had a huge poster of her in my college apartment. She’s doing a play in San Francisco in October I hope to catch.

She's sexy to me. Just so sexy and sensual.

I don't know how to link to Instagram. Oh well. I'm a Lesbian Luddite in that regard.

Her Instagram shows that she went to University and does farming and work with animals. She has a great intellectual curiousity about animals and nature. Remember Green Porno? She directed that and the whole nine.

She harms no one and I like her even though I have never met her. She seems quite alright.

Is she on your "celebrities you're allowed to cheat with" list? And, is it laminated?

Laminated AND tattooed on my tuchus.

Sing along..Nep-O-tism, Nep-O-tism. If she wasn't the spawn, think she'd have had the breaks?

R10 It was but I scratched her off in favor of Winona Ryder.

Was it because Isabella is too international, R13?

Funny, just last night I watched that HBO documentary “about face“ about the old supermodels, she was on it. I think she’s had a wonderful career that has aged just as gracefully as she has. I happened to walk past her having coffee at a sidewalk café in Carmel last fall. She was instantly recognizable, in that completely natural way of hers.

I think she was competing against a lot of brunette European/European looking women of the time-

Juliette Binoche, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jill Hennessy, Nicoletta Braschi, Catherine Zeta-Jones, etc.

They all looked sort of similar in their 20's/early 30's

r15 I recall seeing that HBO documentary, and was mystified that Stephanie Seymour was hardly shown at all. She was a big part of that whole scene. I assume that legal threats were made.

I loved her as Bianca, Jack’s ex on 30 Rock.

R17 wait, Stephanie was in it? I’ll admit I looked away at times but I didn’t see her at all.

I looked but couldn’t find a thread about this documentary, I suppose it’s too old. Lisa Taylor was interesting to see. And what kind of accent has Jerry Hall concocted for herself? The only kind of bland one was that blonde with the Scandinavian name who worked with Halston, something berg or borg.

Rossellini's best work is as the hamster in Closet Monster.

[quote]Juliette Binoche, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jill Hennessy, Nicoletta Braschi, Catherine Zeta-Jones, etc.

Speaking of monsters, what horrific viewing habits you must have that you put Binoche in the company of such names.

I met her when we were shooting her for Lancome advertisements. She was super nice and just so easy to get along with, grounded and very normal.

In the documentary mentioned, Isabella had an interesting comment about why Lancome let her go as their “face“ even though sales were good. She said that as an older person she was set in her ways and loyal to the products she knew worked for her, whereas younger consumers can be convinced to try and buy new things so that’s who companies want to target. I mean it’s kind of obvious but I never thought about it in quite that way.

R20 What do you mean?

I think she got a PhD or some degree in animal behavior? She's running a farm/bed and breakfast and performs from time to time. She seems to have a great relationship with both her adopted as well as bio child. She seems lhappy and content.

Remember when she dated Gary Oldman for a hot second?

her lancome ads were some of the most beautiful stuff! chipped tooth and all.

I follow her on Instagram. She has a beautiful family and, once in a while, will post pics of her parents and siblings with happy remembrances. I’ve always loved her and she fantastic in a recurring role in Julia on HBOMAX.

I never quite got what all the fuss was about.

She was really just her mother's daughter and that's what opened doors for her. Attractive, but not really beautiful enough to be a true model. A competent actress, but nothing outstanding and an average concept artist at best.

Yes, I loved her Lancôme ads. Then Lancôme , in their infinite wisdom, declared her too old and replaced her with completely anonymous and utterly forgettable models. Brilliant.

R28 Was it hard learning a braille keyboard?

IMO, the Lancome ads were so airbrushed, you could hardly see any details on her face.

"She is so huggable in this movie, so funny, so sweet, that she brings sunshine into scenes that might otherwise seem contrived. She has one moment almost impossible to describe, when she and Danson have agreed to meet "accidentally" at a restaurant by bringing their families there. And as she looks up and is "surprised" to see Danson there, her joy and embarrassment and good humor all bubble up at once, and she almost breaks out laughing as she tries to go through with the charade."

I met her once (seated next to her at a wedding reception). She couldn’t have been more charming and funny. And beautiful, with amazing style.

R33 My goodness, you got the plum seat!

R32---I like the way they think!

IR was a great model for cosmetics and fashion BECAUSE she was not just a young, symmetrical any chick model. Yes, part of it was her parentage, and knowing she lives an interesting European jet setter life to some extent, while also being able to imagine other aspects of her gracious and fascinating lifestyle made her aspirational and interesting. She has substance and seems like someone who is living her best life.

She was married to Martin Scorses?

Dave Foley in drag looked just like her.

Isabella was born into a fascinating family which was fractured by Ingrid's divorce from Petter Lindstrom. She seems to have managed to grow up, succeed in a number of careers, and is now content to act a bit and dedicate much of her time to animals. her personal life seems to have been rocky, but hey, she's not out in the world looking like she lives 6 months of the year in a plastic surgeons office.

Brava Isabella. and yes, what a surprise and treat to meet the first Mrs. Donaghy on 30 Rock. It's such a drag that Alec Baldwin is such a whack-a-doo in real-life he's a very good actor.

Does anyone know if Isabella is close to Pia Lindstrom her half and much older sister?

I love watching her onscreen. Those beautiful eyes and that voice. She's very good in Wild at Heart and Fearless with Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez. And she holds her own in Death Becomes Her, and she's one of the reasons why it's a classic. And she was probably one of the very few good parts of Madonna's Sex book. She brought class and sensuality to an otherwise tawdry book.

I enjoyed the movie Cousins for Sean Young's appearance

I saw Death Becomes Her at a revival theater a few weeks ago. Such a fun movie. And she was gorrrrrrgeous in it.

Has anyone else seen The Saddest Music in the World, directed by Guy Maddin? It's wonderful. She loses her legs in an accident and her prosthetics are clear glass filled with beer. Then it gets weird. Read the plot summary below.

When she dated David Lynch, she enjoyed the New York nightlife, while he preferred staying home in L.A. She said when they broke up after 4 years, he told her he never wanted to talk to her again, and she wasn't sure why.

Ravaged by scoliosis

[quote] Does anyone know if Isabella is close to Pia Lindstrom her half and much older sister?

Yes, they are frequently photographed together, as here.

R43, I'm surprised. I wonder what happened between the two of them?

She should and could play the starring role in a TV film bio of chef Lidia.

I guessed Peru because years ago I read a great book about the explorer Lope de Aguirre's search for El Dorado, down the Amazon from Peru into Brazil. Impressive game for Eric.

I've always heard that Ingrid Bergman was very nice and down to earth in her private life -Looks like her look-alike daughter took after her. Kind of nice, isn't it? I'm sick of all the bitches and fame whores.

R43 Looks like they got over it.

Isabella speaks very highly of David Lynch. She doesn't talk half as much about Martin Scorsese, though I think they are still on good terms as well - she posted on Instagram for his birthday last year.

Her accent is getting thick and impenetrable. She's pining for her homeland

[quote] Then nothing. What happened?

OP, she got quite fat.

She exposes her fatness playing in a very small role in this dull, ineptly-made, amateur Lesbian drama.

The leading performer looks like a white giraffe. And Isabella plays the villainess. And to make sure we realise Isabella is a villainess the director has her in a costume resembling an obese spider.

Isabella turns SEVENTY next week! !

Glad she got her front tooth fixed. In an interview, she said that her father threw a phone at her and that's what caused the chip. Who wants to look in the mirror, see your chipped tooth, and know that it was caused by family violence.

Papa Rossellini was a true Italian—molto, selvaggiamente appassionato!

R31 It's always like that with any model they use in those ads, young or older, famous or not.

class act, disregarding her earring choice @ the op.

David Lynch seems to be beloved these days, but I've always found him very off-putting. His eccentricity comes across as practiced and insincere. He was cheating on his first wife Mary Fisk with Rossellini, and in an interview he complained about Rossellini cooking for him, because the smell of food got all over his papers. It doesn't surprise me that he told Isabella to never speak to him again, without her knowing where that even came from. I'm sure in all his fake meditation, peace and love, enlightenment mumbo jumbo, he has a peaceful and enlightened reason for it. Of course now, they're supposedly still friends.

Isabella’s marriages and love relationships seem to last on average three years. Just an observation.

Let's not forget ber classic turn as Nimoway in mmmeeerrrrlin!

I enjoy these Hollywood Italian royalty pairings: Isabella Rossellini and Martin Scorsese; Quentin Tarantino and Sofia Coppola… I feel like there are others I can’t remember.

R42 I've seen it. It's fabulous.

Love Isabella Rossellini. And OP Isabella has been working continuously appearing in a number of Guy Maddin films and making her own short films.

I love that she hasn't gone down the plastic surgery/botox path like so many have. She's aged naturally, looks like a real person and looks gorgeous.

She and Meryl played surprisingly well off each other in Death Becomes Her. The “NOW a warning?!” scene is one of my favorite of all time.

She only did 2 episodes of 30 Rock in the first season, I wonder why they didn’t bring her back. Her character or the fact of Jack having been married before is never mentioned again.

Great observation, R65. Unfortunately, in the later seasons Jack’s love life was used as a way of getting famous actresses to guest star (Julianne Moore, Salma Hayek, Edie Falco, Emily Mortimer…)

To make matters worse, during the period Hollywood was trying to “Gretchen Mol” Elizabeth Banks, she was brought on as the 2nd Ms. Donaghy. It would’ve been funny if Bianca had reappeared to at least cause a little chaos.

OP-She looks just like Dave Foley in DRAG.

That’s not fair, R67. While she’s nowhere near as beautiful as her mother, she’s still…oh, shit. She does look like Dave Foley in drag.

How can we change her Wikipedia picture??

She always seemed above Hollywood

She’s fucked a lot of hot dudes.

Like Martin Scorsese?

She certainly does love her Big Beef and Cheddar.

Charming lady, charmed life. She’s eccentric and lovely, and interested in everything. She’s really candid and honest about her success and seems aware of her good fortune. She is able to focus on the things that she loves. I think of her as a role model in that way. In some ways she is cooler and more interesting over time.

The comment about her photoshopped Lancome ads isn't accurate. There was one series where her face was overexposed and it looked ridiculous. But most of the other ads were regular photos. Look them up.

She was a gorgeous woman. She wasn't used 'just because she was Ingrid Bergman's daughter' - unlike today where any spawn of a reality TV star is considered a 'model'.

She had an actual, unique beauty - as many models in the 80's had. Natural.

Her best movies were Blue Velvet, Cousins, Death Becomes Her, Left Luggage, Big Night, and my favorite- Immortal Beloved.

R76- ALL movies no one saw

R77 Tell us you’re a loser without saying “I’m a loser”…

Effortlessly adorable.

I'm with Lesbian Luddite.

One of the most beautiful women alive--in every way. Not superficially sexy or attractive. Just gorgeous and dreamy.

[quote] She was really just her mother's daughter and that's what opened doors for her. Attractive, but not really beautiful enough to be a true model. A competent actress, but nothing outstanding and an average concept artist at best.

Some people have a special magical quality that's hard to define.

It's a certain Europeanness about her. An artistic bent, naturalism, the sense that she enjoys good food and wine, is family oriented and philosophical about aging. Very appealing.

Her story was featured in one of the best early episodes of You Must Remember This.

I think it used to be called "The Cultural Relevance of Isabella Rosellini" but even with this title it rocks.

Her twin sister is attractive.

R59 = Cubefrau. Someone who has affairs is a bad person? And saying this in a thread about the daughter of a woman who was run out of the country because of an affair is beyond ironic.

Also, why would that mean he's faking his quirks? He's genuinely a strange (perhaps Asperger's, like another David - Byrne of the Talking Heads) but pleasant guy, who I have always heard is great to his actors.

And why would they not be friends? They broke up about 35 years ago. Some people are mature.

R84 Isabella's twin looks rather masculine in that photo. It may be her hairstyle, position or what she is wearing but it is not the most flattering of pictures.

R87: I think she looks great. Isotta, I think, is an academic and teaches, she has also written a book. The Bergman girls are no dummies.

Robert De Niro's ex-housekeeper, tears rolling down her cheeks, admitted in a Manhattan courtroom yesterday that she had stolen a $95,500 pair of diamond-drop earrings belonging to his wife, Grace Hightower.

If she treated me better, with more respect, I probably wouldn't have done this," a police report quoted Ms. Turyk-Wawrynowicz as saying of Ms. Hightower on June 20, 2005, as she was riding in a car with detectives, heading toward her home in Maspeth, Queens. "I didn't steal from Isabella Rossellini, because she treated me well. I only stole from people who didn't treat me with respect."

Sempre vive! Live forever!

R89 That's hilarious. I love that shit! Imagine Grace Hightower being all high-handed with the help, lmao.

I also like what Isotta is wearing in R84. Very artful.

[quote] "I didn't steal from Isabella Rossellini, because she treated me well. I only stole from people who didn't treat me with respect."

That is absolutely hilarious, I love it!

It's heartening to know some thieves have a code of honor! And that our warm opinion of Isabella is justified.

[quote] It wasn't until Death Becomes Her where she became relevant again.

One of my all-time favorite celebrity stories: Pia Lindstrom was once overheard after an early screening of "Death Becomes Her" in Manhattan saying to a friend, "I see my sister yet again played the weirdo..."

She's also very charming in "The Saddest Music in the World," a Guy Maddin film from the 00s.

R95, see r42.

I think she picks roles she has fun with- Death Becomes Her, 30 Rock, Green Porno, etc.

She has a beautiful laugh and a great sense of humor.

Gorgeous

On Andy Richter's podcast. Talk about outclassing someone with little effort.

I didn’t guess Peru, R48. I guessed Bolivia.

She's a very classy woman with elegance. She has that, je ne sais quoi ease about her. She is beautiful at any age.

Ingrid Bergman is one of the few Hollywood movie stars whose children decided to get an education, I think one of Isabella’s siblings is a prof and Isabella herself has a PhD.

I remember being in a department store and watching this on a loop at a cosmetic counter. Well done.

Gorgeous in a natural way

Graceful

Intelligent

Well educated

Down to Earth

A great sense of humor

Is not a sell out

Would rather be at a symphony concert hall than a pop concert

Add to the chorus of people who worked with her and adored her. It was right before Blue Velvet came out and she was modeling. Couldn’t have been nicer or more down to earth. I always remember her fondly.

She is currently appearing in the fictional drama made of life of Julia on HBO. She plays Simka (sp?) and looks very old.

She seems like such a kind person.

I'd steal from her. Because after reading this thread, I know she'd forgive me.

I used to see her around when I lived in NY. Very recognizable. She’s not one of those people who try to disguise themselves (like Tom Hanks). She’s classy. George Harrison's line “Something in the way she moves….” Classy people, especially women, have the right body movement. Is it natural, is it taught in finishing school? I don’t know, Bit she has it.

I think people underestimate the impact her mother had on Western culture, Casablanca, in particular and considering Isabella resembles a brunette, Italian version of her mother, with a different though similarly lush speaking voice, the fact that she's had a high profile career for the past forty years shouldn't be at all suprising. While I agree that several of the men in her life were probably at least at a subconscious level with her in part because of both her father and mother. I think her fame has come less because she is Ingrid Bergman's daughter and more so because she evokes her mother in so many ways.

I love looking at her. I think at her peak she was as beautiful as her mother.