Yahoo Lifestyle 5 Minutes With Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini. Photo: Getty Images.
Isabella Rossellini has always done things her way. The daughter of cinema darling Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini, she grew up between Rome and New York and began a modelling career at 28 – when most of her contemporaries were hanging up their boots.
Despite being a late bloomer, she went on to snare one of the longest-running beauty contracts in history – 14 years as the face of Lancôme – and gained recognition as an actress for her performances in Blue Velvet (directed by then-partner David Lynch) and Death Becomes Her, alongside Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.
Now, however, she channels her energy into training guide dogs and bringing the sex lives of insects to theatres around the globe (yes, really). Here she chats about her unusual upbringing and love of animals ahead of the opening of her one-woman comedy show, Green Porno, later this month.
You recently became a university student – what are you studying?
I only take one class per semester, so I’m a very, very part-time student. I study biodiversity and animal behaviour. It inspired me in a very big way to write my script for Green Porno [which explores the bedroom behaviours of deadly spiders to worms, bees and dragonflies].
Has Green Porno changed the way that you view animals – do you think twice about squashing a spider now?
I was always interested in animals, since I was a little girl. But if a mosquito lands on me, I still squash it!
You’re from a very artistic family. Do you remember the moment when you realised your family was famous?
When you’re very small you don’t understand that your parents are known and that other parents are not. I do remember that once my daughter was asking me about her grandmother and she said, “What did she look like? What was she like?” I said, “Well, wait a second.” I turned on the television and I switched through the channels to find her. I remember thinking, “Wow, not too many people can do that.” And in fact, we did hit Anastasia and my daughter admired her grandmother on the TV.
Growing up, we were always followed by paparazzi so I knew that that didn’t happen to other children.
You didn’t begin modelling until you were 28. Were you reluctant to put yourself in the spotlight?
I didn’t think I was putting myself in the spotlight. Most models are not famous. They are beautiful girls but nobody knows who they are. I worked before the phenomenon of all the supermodels. I can't really say that I’m a model anymore because I do one photo shoot every two years and it’s a big deal. I did do the Bulgari campaign a year ago and I was delighted to work with Annie Leibovitz again.
What’s your earliest memory?
My father bought my mum a French bulldog dog and they called him Stromboli, like the island in Italy. Stromboli was also the name of the first film my parents did together so they named him after that. When he died that would be my earliest memory – I must’ve been two or three years old.
What is your favourite smell?
Basil.
What is your favourite thing to do on the weekend?
I live in the country and I have a little farm so there’s always something to do there. I generally just work on the farm, work on the fields.
What is the best cure for heartbreak?
Time.
Isabella Rossellini is touring Australia with Green Porno in March as part of the Adelaide Festival adelaidefestival.com.au.
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