Isabella Rossellini

The Face of the Two-Billion-Dollar Franchise

Isabella Rossellini was born in Rome on a sweltering June 1952. She grew up between her father Roberto Rossellini's film sets and the unreachable aura of her mother, Ingrid Bergman. But her first major global impact had nothing to do with film.

In 1982, she signed an exclusive contract with Lancôme that made her the highest-paid face in the cosmetics industry. For fourteen years, she sold creams and perfumes with an elegance that seemed inherited from another era. The brand decided to terminate her contract in 1996, arguing that at 42 years old, Rossellini no longer embodied the youthful ideal women were looking for.

That public rejection did not bring her down.

Because Rossellini always understood beauty as a work tool, not an end in itself. So she used her exit from advertising to focus on projects that her modeling agency would have considered commercial suicide. By then, she was a woman with clear ideas and a bank account healthy enough to say no to the major studios.

The Velvet That Shattered the Glass

Before that advertising dismissal, she had already shattered her image as the perfect woman. In 1986, she accepted the role of Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet under the direction of David Lynch. It was a decision that caused panic among those closest to her.

Her agent quit after reading the script. The character was a broken, abused and sexually explicit woman, far from the polished image of her TV commercials. But the film let her prove that her talent was as raw as that of her parents (especially her mother during her European period).

The scandal didn't bother her.

During filming, she began a romantic relationship with Lynch that lasted several years. That creative period led her to take part in daring projects such as Wild at Heart in 1990. Rossellini preferred oddity to the comfort of big Hollywood productions, and that kept her away from the more commercial circuits for decades.

Farms, Insects and a Return to the Vatican

At the turn of the century, her interest shifted toward ethology and animal behavior. She enrolled in university to earn a master's degree and ended up producing Green Porno in 2008. It was a series of short films in which she herself appeared dressed as an insect to explain mating rituals.

In 2023, she played Signora Flora in La Chimera under the direction of Alice Rohrwacher. Critics praised her ability to embody aristocratic decay with just a few gestures. But her major mature role came in 2024 with Conclave, directed by Edward Berger.

In this production, she plays Sister Agnes, a nun who silently observes the intrigue among the cardinals after the death of a Pope. Filming took place at Cinecittà Studios in Rome during the spring months. The actress insisted that her costumes be as austere as possible so as not to distract attention from her gaze.

The film had a budget of 20 million dollars.