The Tragedy Of Isabella Rossellini Is So Sad

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The following article includes mention of sexual assault.

With legendary Swedish actor Ingrid Bergman for a mother and influential Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini for a father, Isabella Rossellini was always going to pursue a career in cinema. She first came to prominence in the mid-1980s thanks to cult hits such as "White Nights" and "Blue Velvet" before landing more mainstream roles in the likes of "Death Becomes Her," "Fearless," and "Wyatt Earp." And before the turn of the century, she'd added an Emmy win for "Chicago Hope" and a Golden Globe nomination for "Crime of the Century"  to her list of achievements, too.

Since then, Rossellini has continued to pivot between the mainstream and the arthouse, lending her voice to "The Incredibles 2" and "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On," appearing in "Two Lovers," "Enemy," and "Joy," and portraying Simone Beck in the Julia Child biopic "Julia," not to mention serving as creator of "Green Porno," a series of educational shorts about animal mating rituals for which she dressed up as everything from a housefly to a praying mantis.

But while Rossellini's life appears to have been a constant bundle of avant-garde delight in front of the cameras, she has, in fact, suffered more than her fair share of heartache and trauma behind the scenes. From significant relationships with fellow Hollywood stars that didn't last to family deaths, here's a look at her most tragic stories. 

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Isabella Rossellini experienced much upheaval in her childhood thanks to her parents' turbulent relationship. She was just 5 when Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini divorced. Alongside two of her siblings, she spent the following two years living across the road from her father in a Rome hotel with their housekeeper, Argenide, someone she's since described as a "second mother." 

Sadly, Isabella didn't have much contact with her first mother during this period. "I didn't feel I missed her," the "Blue Velvet" star later told The New York Times. "I only realized it was a strange solution after I had my own child," she added, referring to the birth of her daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, in 1983. All the same, it was a tumultuous time; Isabella's twin sister, Ingrid, even described it as a series of crises each time their mother came and went.

Isabella also belatedly dealt with the issue of her parents' split in a 17-minute film she created to commemorate what would have been an important family milestone, titled "My Dad Is 100 Years Old." "I played myself talking to myself playing my mom, saying, 'Why did you divorce?'" she explained to Interview. "And my mother gives a description of my father's character — how wonderful and difficult it was to be married to him."

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In 1982, Isabella Rossellini adorned the cover of Vogue magazine for the very first time, a clear sign that the then-relative unknown's career was in its ascendancy. Sadly, the star's acting legend mother never got to see her achieve her full potential.

Indeed, Ingrid Bergman died at the age of 67 in 1982, three years before her daughter landed her American breakthrough role in "White Nights". "She never saw my success as an actress," Isabella lamented to People in 2022. "She was not with me when I had my own children or became a grandmother."

But Isabella, who briefly shared the screen with Bergman in her 1976 acting debut, "A Matter of Time," also believes that even decades on her late mother is still leading the way: "Mama had this physical energy, like a Scandinavian Viking. When she walked, I always felt I was behind her, trying to catch up. My own daughter has that. She's tall and strong like Mama, with me trotting behind. I'm still catching up to Mama today."

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Isabella Rossellini was born in 1954 with multiple spinal deformities, and a few years after being diagnosed with scoliosis at age 11, she underwent complicated surgery. As a result, she spent much of her early teenage years in a head-to-toe cast.

Isabella was looked after through this difficult period by both her mom, Ingrid Bergman, and twin sister, Ingrid Rossellini. Sadly, the former, who died in 1982, couldn't be by the "Death Becomes Her" star's bedside when she was forced to undergo a similar procedure in her 50s. "I missed my mother terribly because she was the perfect nurse," she later told The New Zealand Herald.

Unfortunately, Isabella had to play nurse herself when her own daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, was forced to wear a back brace between the ages of 12 and 17 upon being diagnosed with scoliosis, too. The actor's own experiences of the genetic condition has deterred her from ever resorting to cosmetic procedures, as she told The Belfast Telegraph: "Even if plastic surgery isn't this bad, just the word 'operation' fills me with fear."

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As if all the spinal surgeries weren't enough, Isabella Rossellini also had to undergo an operation for appendicitis at the age of 5. It was no doubt a hugely worrying time — for her father, Roberto Rossellini, in particular, as the exact same condition had taken the life of his first-born just over a decade earlier.

Indeed, Isabella never got the chance to meet her older half brother, Marco Romano Rossellini, who Roberto shared with his costume designer second wife Marcella De Marchis. In 1946, Marco Romano Rossellini died at the age of 9 from a ruptured appendix shortly before the director was due to start work on "Germany Year Zero."

Roberto later dedicated the film to Marco, which on the surface appears to be a touching sentiment. But the Italian picture, which as its title suggests is set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, is a disturbing tragedy about a 12-year-old who fatally poisons his Nazi father before leaping from a building to his death — pretty heavy subject matter.

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In 1997, Isabella Rossellini revealed in her autobiography, "Some of Me," that a slightly older boy had raped her in her teenage years. But the star decided against offering any further information, a stance that, as she explained to Vulture two decades on, she continued to take in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

The "Conclave" actor argued that although she understood talking about such experiences can be beneficial to others, she herself saw little value in digging up the past. "The person that raped me — I was 15 or 16, he was a year older than I, why would I dig out this story 48 years later? What if people start to say, 'No, you have to say the person's name?'"

Rossellini then wondered aloud about the effect such a revelation might have on the man's life, including any possible marriages or children. "I don't think that pinpointing one person and destroying their life because they made a sin in the context of that culture — I don't have the heart for it." However, the Emmy winner expressed relief that this particular culture is no longer considered remotely acceptable. "We just lived with it. Even if you didn't have anything violent happen to you, there was always a way for a man to belittle you. This is changing, I think. Men have to see they can't behave in these ways ... for me, the interesting thing is how the #MeToo movement has shown us all the subtle ways women can be diminished."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

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You may find it hard to believe, but Tinseltown legend Isabella Rossellini doesn't have a single Academy Award nomination to her name. And although she's appeared in some of the most critically-acclaimed films of the last half-century, you can count her major box office successes on one hand. So why did the Italian-American never make it quite as big as she deserved to?

Well, Rossellini herself believes that both her heritage and her accent may have played a part. "I would have loved to have a huge Hollywood career, but I became an actress when it was closed up," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2021, before acknowledging that the experimental nature she inherited from her filmmaker father, Roberto Rossellini, may have also played a part.

Referring to her work with auteurs such as Guy Maddin and David Lynch, Rossellini went on to add, "I just did things that came my way that I was interested in. Maybe another, more traditional American actor would say, 'Oh, I don't know if it fits in my career plan,' but I didn't have ever in mind developing an image."

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Isabella Rossellini has experienced the hardship of divorce from both Hollywood filmmaker (and five-time husband) Martin Scorsese and model Jon Wiedemann. But the relationship failure that appears to have hit her the hardest is her split from boyfriend of five years, director David Lynch.

Rossellini followed in her parents' footsteps when she fell in love with her boss. Indeed, she began dating celebrated auteur David Lynch in 1986 after appearing in his cult classic, "Blue Velvet," but the pair went their separate ways in 1991. And judging by an interview she gave to WENN, Lynch was responsible: "David was the big love of my life," she remarked (via Digital Spy). "And I believed that he loved me the same way, but obviously I was mistaken. All my instincts told me we were a happy couple, but we weren't."

Rossellini was left so distraught by the split that she sought professional advice to help in her recovery: "I spoke [afterwards] with other women who had been through the same thing. And I took therapy. But the thing that helped me the most was time."

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In 1996, Isabella Rossellini found herself on the receiving end of society's obsession with youth when, after 14 years with skincare firm Lancôme, she was ousted from the brand's campaigns. The actor, who was aged (shock! horror!) 43 at the time, was told that she was no longer able to sell the dream of staying forever young, a decision she later described as "very unjust."

Indeed, Rossellini still seemed burned by the whole ordeal when she spoke to The Irish Independent several decades later: "I can't say I wasn't sad. I know how to pose. I know how to give expression, and I had all this wonderful experience, but I couldn't exercise it or offer it to anyone. Yes, it was painful." The "Cousins" star's pain only made her decision to return to the brand in 2016 even more surprising.

When asked by The Guardian why she hadn't told Lancôme to stick their offer where the sun doesn't shine, Rossellini replied, "There was that feeling, when a friend asked why I was going back. I said, 'Because I'm flattered, I'm very touched, I miss them.' It's very personal, but I don't know whether I'm being forgiving." The actor, who'd been asked to return by a female CEO, Francoise Lehmann, also acknowledged that the company's corporate setup had changed significantly since her first stint.

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After being left heartbroken by David Lynch, Isabella Rossellini faced another romantic setback in the mid-1990s when fiance and future Academy Award winner Gary Oldman left her for another woman. And to make matters worse, he'd been in rehab attempting to get clean for their wedding at the time!

Rossellini and Oldman had fallen head over heels for each other after meeting on the set of 1994 biopic "Immortal Beloved." But their plans to get married stalled due to the latter's substance abuse problems, and after returning from a drinking session that reportedly lasted 70 days, the former issued an ultimatum: if he didn't get his act together, Rossellini said she would leave him for good.

Oldman subsequently checked into a rehab facility. But unfortunately for Rossellini, the "Nil By Mouth" star didn't just leave with a new-found sobriety, he also left with a new girlfriend. Yes, during the program, Oldman met and subsequently struck up a relationship with model (and ex of Wham!' heartthrob Andrew Ridgeley) Donya Fiorentino, and the pair went on to walk down the aisle later that same year. They also had two sons before ending things rather acrimoniously in 2001.

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As well as finding that her accent, heritage, and experimental nature was a barrier to mainstream success, Isabella Rossellini also discovered that middle age was a strict no-no when it came to Hollywood casting. Indeed, look at the star's filmography from the late '90s onward and instead of the acclaimed awards fare that had become her trademark, you'll see plenty of little-known efforts that went straight to VHS/DVD.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, Rossellini acknowledged that when it comes to Tinseltown, the adage that 'age ain't nothing but a number' certainly doesn't ring true. Luckily, she was warned ahead of time to prepare for such discrimination. "My mum told me that there is no job for women between 45 and 60, because you are in-between," she said, referring to Swedish actor Ingrid Bergman. "You are not young enough to play the young girl, but you are also not old enough to play the matriarch, the witch or grandmother. 

"So there is a period of 15 years where you're in limbo and they don't know how to hire you," Rossellini continued. "Then after 60, a lot of work comes back. That was true for my mum." Indeed, in recent years, Rossellini has returned to more esteemed projects, from surrealist comedy "Problemista" to papal drama "Conclave." 

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Today's cinephiles will no doubt be aware of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. After all, the former was in iconic movies like "Casablanca" and won Academy Awards for her performances in "Gaslight," "Anastasia," and "Murder on the Orient Express," while the latter was the director at the forefront of the scene known as Italian neorealism. However, their daughter believes that when it comes to the general public, the two silver screen legends have been consigned to history.

In a 2024 interview with Variety, Isabella admitted that she used to find it difficult always being introduced as the offspring of cinematic royalty rather than an artist in her own right. However, she'd now like nothing more than to be referred to as such. "... The younger generation doesn't know them, and it breaks my heart," she said. "Their reputations outlived them, but fame is very brief."

Isabella had previously spoken about her parents' legacies in a more philosophical manner for her 1997 autobiography, "Some of Me." "Is being remembered a kind of antidote to death?" she pondered. "Is fame a sort of eternity?"