Isabella Rossellini Height, Age, Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Isabella Rossellini

• Isabella Rossellini’s mother Ingrid Bergman was of Swedish and German descent and her father Roberto Rossellini was of Italian descent. Her father’s family was originally from Tuscany and Veneto. Her mother, who was Swedish was born in Stockholm to a Swedish father and a German mother.

• Isabella weighed 6 lbs 15 oz at birth according to the birth announcement published in the 30th  June 1952 Milestones column of Time Magazine.
  

  Isabella Rossellini’s (right) childhood photo with her sister

• While growing up, Isabella received a liberal Catholic education. She was raised in Rome, as well as in Santa Marinella and Paris.

• Isabella Rossellini underwent an operation for appendicitis at the age of five.

• At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with Scoliosis which is a spine condition. To fix her condition, she had to undergo an 18-month-long procedure of painful stretchings, body casts, and surgery on her spine using pieces of one of her shin bones.

• After her surgery, Isabella was in a body cast for a whole year.

• Isabella Rossellini grew up in a very financially unstable family. Her father was a very experimental filmmaker and he used to take a lot of risks with his films that he used to be under a lot of debt at times. Talking about those days, Isabella was quoted saying that
  

  I was a little girl, things were confiscated from our house to pay my father’s debts. But three days later, the house was empty and I could ride my bike in my apartment.”

• Isabella Rossellini attended Finch College while side by side working as a translator and as a television reporter for RAI which is an Italian broadcasting company.

• She decided not to stay full-time in New York until her marriage to the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Isabella met Martin Scorsese for the first time at an interview that she did for RAI.

• Isabella Rossellini began her modelling career at the age of 28 when she was first spotted and photographed by the American photographer Bruce Weber for British Vogue and by Bill King for American Vogue.

• She has worked with many international fashion photographers and some of them include Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, and Norman Parkinson.

• In 1982, she got involved in the cosmetic field and she became the exclusive spokesmodel for the French cosmetics brand Lancôme after replacing the models Nancy Dutiel in the United States and Carol Alt in Europe.

• In 1983, according to a Time magazine report, Isabella Rossellini’s modelling salary was $9,000 a day.

• In 1986, Isabella Rossellini was cast in the American neo-noir mystery thriller film titled ‘Blue Velvet’ which was named after the 1951 song of the same name. She played the character of Dorothy Vallens in the film.

• In 1988, an exhibition dedicated to photographs of her called ‘Portrait of a Woman’ was held at the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris.

• Isabella Rossellini moved to New York when she was 19 years old to pursue higher education. She got enrolled at a tiny Finch College which was a women’s college on the Upper East Side that had started as a finishing school in 1900 and was to close for lack of students in 1975.

• In 1990, at Lancôme, Isabella Rossellini was involved in product development for the fragrance named Trésor.

• In 1991 she was scheduled to play Emilia Gould in the American filmmaker David Lean’s adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel titled ‘Nostromo.’ In April 1991, the filmmaker David Lean passed away which resulted in the film production to come to an end.

• She was ranked by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1990 and 1991 consecutively.

• In 1992, Isabella Rossellini modelled for Madonna’s controversial book titled ‘Sex.’ She also appeared in Madonna’s music video for her successful Top 5 hit song ‘Erotica.’

• In 1994, English actor Gary Oldman and Isabella started dating each other and got engaged soon after. Gary Oldman postponed their planned wedding in order to go to rehab for substance abuse. He ended up meeting another woman in rehab and later, he called his engagement with Isabella off.

• In 1995, Isabella Rossellini was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history. She was ranked 84th in the list.

• In 1996, at the age of 43, she was removed as the face of Lancôme for being “too old.” She was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I was told advertising is about dreams and women dream to be young, so I couldn’t represent that dream.”

• In 1997, Isabella Rossellini published her biography titled ‘Some of Me.’

• In 2002, Isabella Rossellini published a book titled ‘Looking at Me.’

• In 2004, Isabella became the inaugural brand ambassador for the Italian luxury travel ‘Silversea Cruises’ company and she also appeared in print ads on their website.

• In the same year, Isabella was cast in the Off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s ‘The Stendhal Syndrome’ which was all about art’s effect on people emotionally, psychologically, and erotically.

• In 2006, the SundanceTV channel purchased the short film titled ‘My Dad Is 100 Years Old’ which was a tribute that Isabella Rossellini created for her father. However, Isabella’s twin sister Isotta Ingrid criticised the short film and stated it as an ‘inappropriate tribute.’

• In the same year, Isabella published a book titled ‘In the Name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Spirits: Remembering Roberto Rossellini’ which was a tribute to her father Roberto Rossellini.

• In 2007, Isabella Rossellini received US$100,000 from Disney to help with her conservation efforts at the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Network.

• In the same year, she got actively involved with the Central Park Conservancy which is an American nonprofit park conservancy that manages New York City’s Central Park.

• In 2007, she got involved in training guide dogs for the blind.

• Isabella Rossellini loved animals since childhood, Ever since she was little, she had cats and dogs as pets and one day her father gave her author Konrad Lorenz’s book titled ‘King Solomon’s Ring.’

• The author Lorenz was a founder of the science of ethology which is the science of animal behaviour. That is when she decided to pursue a degree in animal behaviour. Talking about her experience, Isabella was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I read that book. I instantly felt that this was what I wanted to do. And when I became older and there was less work as a model and as an actress and my children were grown up, I thought, Well, maybe I’ll go back to school and study ethology. And so in my 60s, I signed up.”

• When she was 65 years old, Isabella enrolled herself at Hunter College, in New York City for a master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation. While studying there, she used to travel from Long Island by train to her college in New York because she found driving ‘boring.’

• In 2008, after she completed her master’s degree in animal behaviour, the Sundance Channel commissioned her to contribute a short film project to the environmental program titled ‘The Green.’ Talking about the same, Isabella was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  At first, I thought I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know what to write and then thought it might be really fun to do little short films about animals. This is how the first three episodes of ‘Green Porno came’ about. When I showed them the pilot, Sundance commissioned eight more. It was a huge hit!”

• In the same year, Isabella’s written and directed short film titled ‘Green Prono’ was released and it received more than 4 million views on YouTube which resulted in the production of 2 more seasons of the short film series.

• She worked with a small budget for ‘Green Porno’ and she was responsible for the scripts, helped to design the creatures, directed the episodes, and was the primary actor in the series.

• In 2008, Isabella narrated the Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin’s silent film titled ‘Brand Upon the Brain’ as part of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival at the Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall, Canada.

• In 2010, Isabella was cast in the Italian drama film titled ‘The Solitude of Prime Numbers’ which was based on the novel of the same name by Paolo Giordano. Isabella played the character of Adele in the film.
  

  Isabella Rossellini on the poster of the Italian drama film titled ‘The Solitude of Prime Numbers’ (2010)

• In 2011, Isabella was appointed as the president of the ‘Official Competition’ jury at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival.

• In 2015, she was announced as the president of the jury for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

• In 2016, at the age of 63, Isabella Rossellini was rehired by Lancôme’s new female CEO, Francoise Lehmann, as a global brand ambassador for the company.

• In 2018, Isabella Rossellini published her book titled ‘My Chickens and I’ which was based on her new-found love for chickens. She is keen on two breeds of heritage chicken that she is raising which are the ‘Campine’ an ancient Flemish bird which is said to have been coveted by Julius Caesar, and the Cochin breed.

• According to Isabella Rossellini, she raises chickens for the eggs and not for the meat.

• Her farm in Bellport, New York, is part of a Community Supported Agriculture (C.S.A.) cooperative that sells eggs and produce to Long Island locals and to Brooklyn restaurants.

• In the same year, Isabella Rossellini’s stage play titled ‘Smallest Circus in the World’ premiered at the Jerome Robbins Theater of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. The play portrayed the scientific discoveries about animal minds, intelligence, and emotions.

• Isabella’s trained pet dog Pan was also part of this sage play ‘Smallest Circus in the World.’ It was quoted saying that
  

  Isabella played the character of Aristotle, Descartes, B.F. Skinner, Charles Darwin, and more to deliver a vivid monologue about the brilliance of the animal kingdom.”

• Isabella Rossellini has been a frequent guest narrator at Disney’s Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World. She most recently appeared in the 2019 and 2022 seasons.

• Isabella is actively involved in conservation efforts. She is the president and director of the Howard Gilman Foundation which is a charitable organization focused on the preservation of wildlife, arts, photography, and dance.

• Isabella serves as the director of the United States-based non-profit organization named ‘Wildlife Conservation Network,’ as of 2025.

• Isabella Rossellini is a massive supporter of the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society in Bellport, Long Island where she is a part-time resident too.

• She is a former trustee of the George Eastman House which is the world’s oldest museum dedicated to photography which is located in Rochester, New York.

• Isabella Rossellini serves as a National Ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, as of 2025.

• Isabella Rossellini holds dual Italian and United States citizenship. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

• She is fluent in Italian, French, and English.

• Isabella initially wanted to become a model but she chose modelling. It was in her late 20s that she finally decided to enter the acting field. Expressing the whole experience, she was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  Because my mother was Ingrid Bergman and my father was Roberto Rossellini, I was intimidated about becoming an actress and a director in life.”

• One of Isabella’s middle names is Elettra which is the Italian word for Electra.

• She considered her relationship with the American filmmaker David Lynch as her ‘most significant relationship.’

• Isabella Rossellini considers the former first lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy and American painter Georgia O’Keeffe as her biggest influence and inspiration in fashion and feminism.

• She is 34 minutes older than her twin sister Isotta Rossellini.

• Isabella Rossellini started speaking in English when she was in her 20s.

• For the longest time in her life, she used to carry pasta in her luggage bag while travelling to places. She got into this habit from her father as he was the one who used to carry his pasta everywhere he went.

• According to Isabella, the habit that she has majorly inherited from her father is of being a good narrator or storyteller and the habit that she has inherited from her mother is of being orderly and maintaining a clean environment.

• In 2021, she started her YouTube channel named after her name and started uploading vlogs related to her work. Her YouTube channel holds more than 6 thousand subscribers, as of 2025.

• In 2022, Isabella Rossellini was cast in the American comedy-drama television series titled ‘Julia’ which was based on the life of the American chef Julia Child. Isabella played the character of Simone Beck.
  

  Isabella Rossellini in a still from the American comedy-drama TV series titled ‘Julia’ (2022)

• In 2024, Isabella was cast in the American political thriller drama film titled ‘Conclave’ in which she played the character of Sister Agnes.
  

  Michelle Monaghan in a still from the American political thriller drama film titled ‘Conclave’ (2024)

• She has been part of many American films and some of them include ‘Death Becomes Her’ (1992), ‘The Saddest Music in the World’ (2023), ‘The Zigzag Kid’ (2014), ‘Land of Dreams’ (2021), ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ (2021), and ‘La chimera’ (2023).
  

  Isabella Rossellini on the poster of the American adventure comedy film titled ‘La chimera’ (2023)

• She has been part of many American TV series titled ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1995), ‘Napoléon’ (2002), ‘The Phantom’ (2009), ‘The Owl House’ (2021), and ‘Los Espookys’ (2022).
  

  Isabella Rossellini in a still from the American Spanish language comedy TV series titled ‘Los Espookys’ (2022)

• Isabella Rossellini lent her voice to many American films and some of them are ‘My Dog Tulip’ (2009), ‘Closet Monster’ (2015), ‘Incredibles 2’ (2018), and ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ (2021).

• Isabella Rossellini had voice roles in a few video games and they are ‘Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland’ (1996) and ‘Ceremony of Innocence’ (1997).

• She rents her farm named ‘Mama Farm’ in Bellport, New York, for weddings and other events.

• She loves to spend time with animals and often shares photos with her pet dogs, sheep, and cats.
  

  Isabella Rossellini with her pet dog