---
name: "Isabella Rossellini"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/isabella-rossellini"
fi1m_id: "isabella-rossellini"
imdb_id: "nm0000618"
tmdb_id: 6588
wikidata_id: "Q203840"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "18 June 1952"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 12
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 12
updated: "2026-10-04T22:02:56.774733+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Isabella Rossellini

## Identity

Isabella Rossellini

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/isabella-rossellini
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** isabella-rossellini
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000618
- **TMDB ID:** 6588
- **Wikidata ID:** Q203840
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Rossellini, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q203840, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000618/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6588

Actor. Born 18 June 1952 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 18 June 1952, Rome, Lazio, Italy
- **Active:** 1986–present
- **Also known as:** Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini
- **Frequently works with:** [David Lynch](https://film.one/person/david-lynch.md), [Laura Dern](https://film.one/person/laura-dern.md), [Stanley Tucci](https://film.one/person/stanley-tucci.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 12 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 88 (1), 1990s 78 (5), 2010s 72 (2), 2020s 76 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 74 across 11 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 8 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 7 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 7, Comedy 5, Crime 4, Fantasy 3, Mystery 3, Thriller 3
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,555m across 8 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Rossellini, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q203840, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000618/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6588

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Blue Velvet*](https://film.one/film/blue-velvet.md) (88)
- **Apple TV:** [*Big Night*](https://film.one/film/big-night.md) (84)
- **Peacock:** [*Death Becomes Her*](https://film.one/film/death-becomes-her.md) (76)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Isabella Rossellini

> Isabella Rossellini can make a small supporting part the reason to watch a film. Her quiet authority matters, but we value her still more when she finds the ordinary kindness in an eccentric character.

Connie gets on with the gardening while she talks about loss. In *Marcel the Shell with Shoes On* (2022), Isabella Rossellini gives this grandmother an unhurried voice and good humour that survive the film’s weaker passages about fame. We were moved because she carries on tending the garden without asking us to pity her. A talking shell is an unlikely place to find such an observant performance, but Rossellini treats Connie’s age and habits with care.

David Lynch’s *Blue Velvet* (1986) made her internationally known as the abused nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens. The glamour and eccentricity of Lisle von Rhuman in *Death Becomes Her* (1992) offered a more comic use for her presence. In *Big Night* (1996), her Gabriella belongs to an ensemble, including Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Minnie Driver and Ian Holm, that holds our attention without conspicuous bids for it. We enjoy the restraint: Rossellini does not need the others to become less interesting when she is there.

Among her later character parts, Flora in Alice Rohrwacher’s *La Chimera* (2023) gives her particularly good material. She is a singing teacher in a villa her daughters would like her to leave, still waiting for Beniamina to come home. Josh O’Connor’s Arthur is the other person who behaves as though that might happen, and she treats him as the son-in-law she never had. Rossellini lets us see why Arthur would matter to this woman, even when he has stopped trying to make himself pleasant.

*Conclave* (2024) is a useful warning about how little a film can give her to do. Edward Berger gives Sister Agnes perhaps four scenes, yet Rossellini makes the nuns’ position among these powerful men matter. She supplies the film’s sharpest challenge to the institution, though she cannot turn an enjoyable papal thriller into the searching film it wants to be. These later roles make good use of her authority; we would welcome more of the unhurried attention given to Connie and Flora. Start with *La Chimera*, and give its wandering middle a little patience.

## Biography

Isabella Rossellini is an Italian-American actress and model. Born in Rome on 18 June 1952, she is the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini. She made her screen debut in Vincente Minnelli’s *A Matter of Time* (1976), which starred her mother.

Rossellini gained prominence for her role as Dorothy Vallens in David Lynch’s *Blue Velvet* (1986), for which she received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She later appeared in *Death Becomes Her* (1992) and numerous other films and television series. Recent credits include Flora in *La Chimera* (2023) and Sister Agnes in *Conclave* (2024), the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (12)

- *The Beauty* (2026), Fi1m 65, as Franny Forst — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-beauty.md)
- *Conclave* (2024), Fi1m 76, as Sister Agnes — [page](https://film.one/film/conclave.md)
- *La Chimera* (2023), Fi1m 84, as Flora — [page](https://film.one/film/la-chimera.md)
- *Marcel the Shell with Shoes On* (2022), Fi1m 77, as Connie (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/marcel-the-shell-with-shoes-on.md)
- *Incredibles 2* (2018), Fi1m 80, as Ambassador (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/incredibles-2.md)
- *The Blacklist* (2013), Fi1m 63, as Floriana Campo — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-blacklist.md)
- *Big Night* (1996), Fi1m 84, as Gabriella — [page](https://film.one/film/big-night.md)
- *Friends* (1994), Fi1m 78, as Isabella Rossellini — [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), Fi1m 72, as Babe Lonsdale — [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *Death Becomes Her* (1992), Fi1m 76, as Lisle von Rhuman — [page](https://film.one/film/death-becomes-her.md)
- *Wild at Heart* (1990), Fi1m 78, as Perdita Durango — [page](https://film.one/film/wild-at-heart.md)
- *Blue Velvet* (1986), Fi1m 88, as Dorothy Vallens — [page](https://film.one/film/blue-velvet.md)

## Complete filmography (126)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Beauty* (2026), series, as Franny Forst — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-beauty.md)
- *Roberto Rossellini - Living Without A Script* (2025), as Isabella Rossellini
- *Unanimal* (2025), as Voice-over
- *Conclave* (2024), as Sister Agnes — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/conclave.md)
- *Jurassic World: Chaos Theory* (2024), series, as Nonna (voice)
- *Problemista* (2024), as Narrator (voice)
- *Spaceman* (2024), as Commissioner Tůmová
- *Silent Life: The Story of the Lady in Black* (2023), as Gabriella Guglielmi
- *La Chimera* (2023), as Flora — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/la-chimera.md)
- *Cat Person* (2023), as Dr. Enid Zabala
- *Louis I., King of the Sheep* (2023), as Narrator (voice)
- *Land of Dreams* (2022), as Jane
- *Interactions - When Cinema Looks to Nature* (2022), Script, Director
- *Marcel the Shell with Shoes On* (2022), as Connie (voice) — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/marcel-the-shell-with-shoes-on.md)
- *Julia* (2022), series, as Simone 'Simca' Beck
- *Morceaux de Cannes* (2021), Actor
- *Domina* (2021), series, as Balbina
- *Fox Film* (2020), Narrator, Director
- *Darwin, What?* (2020), Director, Writer
- *The Rabbit Hunters* (2020), Actor
- *The Owl House* (2020), series, as Bat Queen (voice)
- *Los Espookys* (2019), series, as Isabella Rossellini
- *Vita & Virginia* (2019), as Lady Sackville
- *Incredibles 2* (2018), as Ambassador (voice) — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/incredibles-2.md)
- *Hollywood: No Sex, Please!* (2018), Actor
- *Thus Spoke De Crescenzo* (2017), Actor
- *Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum* (2017), as Interviewee
- *A Winter Fable* (2017), Actor
- *Shut Eye* (2016), series, as Rita Marks
- *Closet Monster* (2016), as Buffy (voice)
- *Joy* (2015), as Trudy
- *Viva Ingrid!* (2015), as Narrator (voice)
- *The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin* (2015), Actor
- *Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn* (2015), as Ingrid Bergman (voice)
- *Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno Live* (2015), Writer
- *Enemy* (2014), as Mother
- *The Blacklist* (2013), series, as Floriana Campo — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-blacklist.md)
- *Mammas* (2013), series, Director, Creator
- *The Zigzag Kid* (2012), as Lola Ciperola
- *The Dandelions* (2012), as Madame Trebla
- *Blue Velvet: The Lost Footage* (2011), as Dorothy Vallens
- *Chicken with Plums* (2011), as Parvine
- *Keyhole* (2011), as Hyacinth
- *Late Bloomers* (2011), as Mary
- *Animals Distract Me* (2011), Screenplay, Director
- *The Solitude of Prime Numbers* (2010), as Adele
- *Seduce Me* (2010), series, as Creator
- *Seduce Me* (2010), Director
- *Isabella Rossellini - Aus dem Leben eines Schmetterlings* (2010), Director
- *My Dog Tulip* (2010), as Ms. Canvenini (voice)
- *The Phantom* (2009), series, as Dr. Bella Lithia
- *Flat Love* (2009), as Narrator (voice)
- *Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair* (2009), Actor
- *Two Lovers* (2008), as Ruth Kraditor
- *Infected* (2008), as Carla Plume
- *Green Porno* (2008), series, as Various · Writer, Director, Producer, Creator
- *The Accidental Husband* (2008), as Mrs. Greta Bollenbecker
- *Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies* (2008), Actor
- *Filthy Gorgeous* (2007), as Antonia
- *Brand Upon the Brain!* (2007), as Interlocuter
- *My Dad Is 100 Years Old* (2006), Writer
- *The Architect* (2006), as Julia Waters
- *Infamous* (2006), as Marella Agnelli
- *30 Rock* (2006), series, as Bianca — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/30-rock.md)
- *The Feast of the Goat* (2006), as Urania
- *Notes on My Father: An Interview with Isabella Rossellini* (2005), Actor
- *Heights* (2005), as Liz
- *A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper* (2005), as Madame Moitessier
- *The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish* (2005), as Madame Moitessier
- *Legend of Earthsea* (2004), series, as High Priestess Thar
- *The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea* (2004), as Madame Moitessier
- *King of the Corner* (2004), as Rachel Spivak
- *Earthed* (2004), Actor
- *The Saddest Music in the World* (2003), as Lady Helen Port-Huntley
- *The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story* (2003), as Madame Moitessier
- *Monte Walsh* (2003), as 'Countess' Martine
- *Empire* (2002), as La Colombiana
- *Napoleon* (2002), series, as Joséphine de Beauharnais
- *Roger Dodger* (2002), as Joyce
- *Alias* (2001), series, as Katya Derevko — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/alias.md)
- *Don Quixote* (2000), as The Duchess
- *The Sky Is Falling* (2000), as Katchen
- *Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection* (1999), as Betty Spinelli
- *The Impostors* (1998), as The Veiled Queen
- *Merlin* (1998), series, as Nimue
- *Left Luggage* (1998), as Mrs. Kalman
- *The Odyssey* (1997), series, as Athena
- *Big Night* (1996), as Gabriella — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/big-night.md)
- *Crime of the Century* (1996), as Anna Hauptmann
- *The Funeral* (1996), as Clara Tempio
- *Croce e Delizia* (1995), as Henriette
- *Immortal Beloved* (1994), as Anna Marie Erdödy
- *Friends* (1994), series, as Isabella Rossellini — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, as Marina Giannini
- *Wyatt Earp* (1994), as Big Nose Kate
- *Fearless* (1993), as Laura Klein
- *The Innocent* (1993), as Maria
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), series, as Babe Lonsdale — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *The Pickle* (1993), as Planet Cleveland Woman (uncredited)
- *Death Becomes Her* (1992), as Lisle von Rhuman — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/death-becomes-her.md)
- *The Siege of Venice* (1991), as Rosanna
- *Lies of the Twins* (1991), as Rachel Marks
- *Gallant Ladies* (1990), as Victoire
- *Ivory Hunters* (1990), as Maria DiConti
- *Wild at Heart* (1990), as Perdita Durango — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/wild-at-heart.md)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Astrid Weller (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, as Betty Spinelli
- *Cousins* (1989), as Maria Hardy
- *Zelly & Me* (1988), as Mademoiselle Zelly
- *Siesta* (1987), as Marie
- *Tough Guys Don't Dance* (1987), as Madeleine Regency
- *Red Riding Hood* (1987), as Lady Jean
- *Dark Eyes* (1987), as Claudia (uncredited)
- *Blue Velvet* (1986), as Dorothy Vallens — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/blue-velvet.md)
- *White Nights* (1985), as Darya Greenwood
- *The Meadow* (1979), as Eugenia
- *A Matter of Time* (1976), as Sister Pia
- *Poor Clare*, Actor
- *Silent Retreat*, as Michelle Keaton
- *The Temptation Of Gracie*, Actor
- *The Duchess and I*, as Suzanne Blum
- *The Painted Bride*, as (voice)
- *Three Incestuous Sisters*, Actor
- *Vermillion*, as Madame de Noailles
- *Petrichor*, Actor
- *Naya: Legend of the Golden Dolphin*, as Queen Maya (voice)

## Gallery

- ![Isabella Rossellini as Gabriella in Big Night (1996)](https://film.one/media/title/1445/still-1daaea00b518.jpg) Isabella Rossellini as Gabriella in *Big Night* (1996) — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-8e69193a9fb4.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Isabella_Rossellini_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Isabella_Rossellini_at_the_2024_Toronto_International_Film_Festival_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-139ff3004e0e.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-2bf4088c9f79.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-9d15a7ccc84a.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-35f8fcd697ba.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-be7bdd79dd4b.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB
- ![Isabella Rossellini](https://film.one/media/person/10393/gallery-11b5f829de60.jpg) Isabella Rossellini — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2025: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Conclave*

### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated

- European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award 2024: European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema Award (won)
- European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award 2024: European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (won)
- Rachel Carson Award 2010: Rachel Carson Award (won)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress 1988: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Tough Guys Don't Dance*
- Nastro d'Argento for Best New Actress 1980: Nastro d'Argento for Best New Actress (won), for *Il prato*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/isabella-rossellini