The protagonist of “Blue Velvet”, the wife of Martin Scorsese and the partner of her later great love, David Leeds is an old charming woman
It is the fruit of a great love, of those who create legendary stories, but also rarely last long. Isabella Rossellini, had parents who passed into the pantheon of film history and are emblematic personalities for the field of entertainment and art. Her mother, the famous star and leading actress Ingrid Bergman, and her father, Roberto Rossellini, one of the founders of Italian “neorealism”, which influenced world cinema and moved millions of viewers around the world, especially with his films.
THE Isabella Rossellini, these days is celebrating its 70th anniversary. She is no longer the erotic symbol, with the unique characteristics of her mother, the model that upset millions of men and became a model for even more women, the protagonist of “Blue Velvet”, the wife of Martin Scorsese and companion of her later great love, David Leeds. She is a charming old woman, who put on some weight, but remains radiant and mostly down to earth, fully aware of the weight of her origin and her path to the cinema.
Fruit of a great love
Isabella Rossellini was born on June 18, 1952 in Rome. But it all started long ago, when Ingrid Bergman saw Roberto Rossellini’s masterpiece films “Rome, Fortress City” and “Paisan” and while she is the most sought after actress in Hollywood, she will leave everything to travel to Italy to meet him. great Italian director and work with him. It was preceded by a letter to Rossellini in 1948, in which he asked him if he needed a Swedish actress, while he also left an erotic hint, writing that he only knew “ti ammo” in Italian. Rossellini, unable to resist her charm, will leave his partner and famous actress of the time Anna Maniani, famous for her explosive performances and even more explosive character, and will travel to New York. Rossellini will suggest her to play in the famous drama “Stromboli”, which would be filmed on the volcano in Sicily. Their acquaintance will develop into a passionate love affair even though Bergman was married and had a daughter.
The mother is missing for work …
Shortly after, Bergman will give birth to Isabella. Her parents divorced in 1957 and Ingrid will return to Hollywood waiting for her with open arms. The mother / daughter relationship was not normal. Her mother was so busy filming in the movie studios that, as Isabella had said, “It was easier to find the money for “Casablanca” than for Bergman». After all, they spent most of their time together when her mother became ill and had a difficult time in the last years of her life, suffering from cancer.
Wanted model
Nevertheless, Isabella Rossellini in the 70’s will find her way and after first, taking advantage of her beauty and her physique, which she had taken from her mother, as well as her velvety skin, she will make a career as a model. big fashion and cosmetics houses. At the same time she will start making some appearances in the cinema, with the most important one being the one in Taylor Huckfront’s dramatic film “White Nights”, playing next to the sacred dance monster Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Scorsese and Leeds
In 1979, she met and married the later famous director Martin Scorsese, with whom she divorced in 1982, when the Italian-American director was suffering from psychological problems, having serious psychological transitions. In 1986, she met David Leeds. Their meeting will take place in the rehearsal that the American director will do for the now classic film “Blue Velvet”, looking for his protagonist. The strange thing is that Leeds chose her because it reminded him a lot of the black and white film actress Ingrid Bergman, without, however, knowing that she is her daughter! Their love affair, however, will also have a bad ending, as Leeds was too capricious. So, in 1981, with a phone call to Isabella, who was in Russia, he would announce his decision to separate them. Rossellini, who loved him dearly and tolerated his whims, later revealed that the reason for the end was a love affair that Leeds had had with another woman.
The role of her life
However, the eccentric director will manage to give her her most important moment in the cinema, giving her the leading role in the famous movie “Blue Velvet”, playing a singer who was sexually abused by her sadistic lover, the great Dennis Hopper. Also starring Kyle McLachlan, Laura Dern and Dean Stockwell.
Critics will greet Rossellini with hymns, as well as Hopper’s film and interpretation. Although its glamor will skyrocket, the sequel will not be as impressive. She will star in several films, several of which have been of interest, such as “Innocent” with Anthony Hopkins, “Immortal Beloved”, with Gary Oldman (another love affair that will last three years), “White Earp” etc.
Part of an ancient generation
In recent years he has played mainly supporting roles, as in the relatively recent “Man Copy” by Dennis Villeneuve. With humor, maturity and discovering other interests, she will face her set aside in small roles. She admits that it is difficult for an elderly woman to star now, which is why she prefers to write, to do other interesting things.
But he does not hide a little bitterness for the development of things, as he estimates, in America the producers prefer actors with a lot of fans on social networks and all this ephemeral to even stupid. Seeing young actresses, with nothing special, having 30 million followers, raises her hands, as she is limited to 300,000. However, as she states, she does not intend to undress in order to raise her followers, looking with respect at her roots. As he told Republica a year ago, “I am part of an ancient generation, as my father looked to me when I was little.”
