Isabella Rossellini Biography: Books, Children, Age, Height, Net Worth, Parents, Movies, Ex-Husband, Instagram, Model

Isabella Rossellini is an Italian-American actress, author, filmmaker, and model who became widely known for her striking looks and her complex, unsettling film role as Dorothy Vallens in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet.

Coming from a family steeped in film history—her mother was the Oscar-winning actress Ingrid Bergman and her father the influential director Roberto Rossellini—she initially built a powerful identity in the fashion world before establishing a lasting and diverse screen career in European and American cinema.

She is also recognized for her distinctive work as a philanthropist and farmer focused on animal behavior and conservation.

Profile

• Full Name: Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini
• Nickname: Izzy
• Date of Birth: June 18, 1952
• Age: 73 years old
• Gender: Female
• Place of Birth: Rome, Italy
• Nationality: Italian, American (Dual citizenship)
• Profession: Actress, Model, Author, Filmmaker, Philanthropist
• Height: 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m)
• Weight: 60 kg (132 lbs)
• Eye Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Dark Brown
• Parents: Ingrid Bergman (mother), Roberto Rossellini (father)
• Siblings: Isotta Ingrid Rossellini (twin sister), Robertino Ingmar Rossellini (brother), Pia Lindström (maternal half-sister), Renzo Rossellini (paternal half-brother), Raffaella Rossellini (paternal half-sister), Gil Rossellini (paternal adopted half-brother), Romano Rossellini (paternal half-brother, deceased)
• Spouse: Martin Scorsese (m. 1979–1982), Jonathan Wiedemann (m. 1983–1986)
• Children: Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, Roberto Rossellini (adopted son)
• Relationship status: Single
• Religion: Christian
• Ethnicity: Italian/Swedish
• Net worth: $90 million

Early Life and Education

Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini, who is now 73 years old, was born in Rome, Italy, on June 18, 1952. She spent her formative years navigating a complex, international family dynamic created by the union of two cinema titans, Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini.

She was raised alongside her twin sister Isotta Ingrid Rossellini and her brother Robertino Ingmar Rossellini in homes located in Rome, the Italian coast, and Paris. Her childhood was characterized by movement and exposure to different cultures, which is how she came to speak Italian and French fluently before learning English at school.

The family home was always full of activity with many siblings, including maternal half-sister Pia Lindström and paternal half-siblings Renzo, Raffaella, and Gil. As a child, she faced significant health issues, undergoing extensive treatment including painful spinal surgery for severe scoliosis, a process she has spoken about openly.

Her education started in Rome at the Academy of Fashion and Costume. In her late teens, she moved to New York City to enroll in Finch College.

During this period, she also took courses at the New School for Social Research while working as a translator and a journalist for RAI, the Italian public broadcaster. Much later in life, driven by a personal interest, she pursued and earned a Master’s degree in Animal Behavior and Conservation from Hunter College.

Personal Life

Isabella Rossellini has been married twice. Her first marriage was to the respected film director Martin Scorsese, whom she wed in 1979.

The marriage lasted three years, ending in divorce in 1982. The following year, in 1983, she married Jonathan Wiedemann, a model and executive.

Their marriage lasted until 1986, and together they had her daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, who was born the same year as their separation.

Following her divorce from Wiedemann, she entered into a relationship with the director David Lynch, the man who directed her in her most iconic film role. They were together from 1986 to 1991.

Later, she was engaged to actor Gary Oldman from 1994 to 1996, but they never married.

She is the mother of two children. Her biological daughter is Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, a model and food writer.

In 1993, she adopted a son, Roberto Rossellini, who also works as a model and photographer. Rossellini currently describes herself as single, having found contentment and serenity in her independent life, focusing on her farm and family.

Career

Isabella Rossellini‘s career has unfolded in distinct phases across modeling, acting, and philanthropy. Her professional life began in New York where she worked as a translator and a journalist for Italian television.

Her modeling career began in her late twenties, initially appearing on the cover of British Vogue and later American Vogue. Her most significant contract was a 14-year run as the exclusive spokesmodel for the cosmetics company Lancôme, a partnership that ended when she was 42, an age she felt was considered too old at the time.

She later rejoined the brand as a global ambassador in her sixties.

Her acting career blossomed simultaneously. After her debut film in 1976, she appeared in several European films before moving to Hollywood productions like White Nights in 1985.

Her breakthrough performance came in David Lynch‘s 1986 film Blue Velvet, where her portrayal of the troubled nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens became a defining role, earning her critical acclaim and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Other notable films include Death Becomes Her (1992), Immortal Beloved (1994), and later projects like Joy (2015).

In recent years, she has focused on her philanthropic and educational interests in animal behavior. She created and starred in a series of short films called Green Porno and Seduce Me, which explore the mating habits of insects and animals in a humorous, costume-driven format.

She also runs Mama Farm in Brookhaven, New York, an organic farm dedicated to animal preservation and farming education. In 2024, her role in the film Conclave earned her her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Nominated) – Conclave (2024)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (Nominated) – Blue Velvet (1987)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film (Nominated) – Crime of the Century (1998)
• British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress (Nominated) – Conclave (2024)
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Nominated) – Crime of the Century (1997)
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead (Winner) – Blue Velvet (1987)
• Saturn Award for Best Actress (Winner) – Blue Velvet (1987)

Net Worth

Isabella Rossellini‘s estimated net worth is approximately $90 million. This significant wealth was primarily accrued through her highly successful and extremely lucrative career as one of the world’s top models in the 1980s and 1990s, where she commanded salaries reportedly reaching $2 million per year from contracts with brands like Lancôme.

Social Media

• Instagram: @isabellarossellini

Filmography

• A Matter of Time (1976)
• Il prato (The Meadow) (1979)
• White Nights (1985)
• Blue Velvet (1986)
• Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987)
• Zelly and Me (1988)
• Cousins (1989)
• Red Riding Hood (1989)
• Wild at Heart (cameo) (1990)
• Death Becomes Her (1992)
• The Innocent (1993)
• Immortal Beloved (1994)
• Fearless (1994)
• Wyatt Earp (1994)
• Big Night (1996)
• The Impostors (1998)
• The Soiree (1998)
• Il cielo cade (The Sky Falls) (2000)
• Don Quixote (2000)
• Empire (2002)
• The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (2003)
• The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Antwerp (2003)
• The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish (2003)

Books

• Some of me (1997)
• Looking at me (2002)
• In the name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Spirits: From My Family Album (2006)
• Green Porno (2008)
• Mamzelle Rossellini (2011)
• My Chickens and I (2018)