I think my mother became the muse because she had everything when she was in Hollywood: she had the marriage, the success, the money, all the films she wanted to do and yet even her, she had a longing and wanted to work with a film that had meaning, something more profound. And I think that was very touching to father.

Isabella Rossellini

Categorized in : Thinking Father Mother

Adoption has the dimension of connection - not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others.

Isabella Rossellini

family inspirational love

True elegance is for me the manifestation of an independent mind.

Isabella Rossellini

elegance independent mind

I believe in a set of values I cannot live by. I set high goals for myself, I seek perfection, dream of exotic faraway places. But ultimately, what I long for isn't far away at all. It's in my own backyard. Imperfection charms me, familiar things move me... a celebration of what we have, instead of what we long for. That for me, is glamor.

Isabella Rossellini

dream believe moving

Women who stay true to themselves are always more interesting and beautiful to me: women like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe and Anna Magnani - women who have style, chic, allure and elegance. They didn't submit to any standard of beauty - they defined it.

Isabella Rossellini

style beautiful interesting

If we are completely honest with ourselves, everyone has a dark side to their personalities.

Isabella Rossellini

personality dark sides

What I think has been wonderful about my life is that it has been diverse, and that I've been able to do so many different things. I was able to evolve from modeling into acting. And then when acting opportunities became limited because of my age, I was able to become a writer and director and author. So, I am grateful to myself that I didn't just sit around and become nostalgic about the past that has been and can't come back, but that I instead decided to move on.

Isabella Rossellini

grateful opportunity moving

In interviews, the first question I get in America is always: 'What do you do to stay young?' I do nothing. I don't think aging is a problem ... I'm so surprised that the emphasis on aging here is on physical decay, when aging brings such incredible freedom. Now what I want most is laughs. I don't want to hurt anybody by laughing -- there is no meanness to it. I just want to laugh.

Isabella Rossellini

hurt america thinking

I believe in a set of values I cannot live by.

Isabella Rossellini

values live-by believe

From the time I was a child I wanted to be like my mother. Not necessarily an actress - I never dreamed I'd have the courage. But an active, volatile woman like she was.

Isabella Rossellini

daughter mother children

David Lynch came out of it a genius, and I came out of it a fat girl. I'm sorry that the only comment I get about the part is the way I look. Commenting on the critics' response to her performance in Blue Velvet

Isabella Rossellini

girl sorry blue

If you go to a therapist, they say, 'Are you sure? How do you feel about your wrinkles?' And I say, 'I don't know, because I don't really see them.' I see my hands, but I don't see my face, so it's not a torment. I only see it for five minutes in the morning when I brush my teeth! When you read women's magazines you always read about this drama of getting old, about anti-aging cream and plastic surgery and whatever else. But I think if you're independent, like I have grown to be, it's welcome.

Isabella Rossellini

independent morning drama

A lot of the advertisement is done by saying: first of all, have a complex about who you are.

Isabella Rossellini

advertising done firsts

These same people seem to forget that mother also took a lot of chances with the type of roles she played.

Isabella Rossellini

roles mother people

The reason of my life is not to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Isabella Rossellini

life-is beautiful world

To me, it is very important to have perfume in which it is hard to recognize a particular flower or scent. That gives a touch of mystery.

Isabella Rossellini

important flower giving

When I took my clothes off in Blue Velvet, I wanted to convey the brutality of sex abuse. I wanted to look like a quartered cow hanging in a butcher shop as well as disturbingly appealing.

Isabella Rossellini

clothes blue sex

I am much more radical in my beliefs than my products represent me to be.

Isabella Rossellini

radical products belief

But my mother loved The Elephant Man, and my father gave David Lynch a scholarship to study in Rome.

Isabella Rossellini

mother men father

My father used to say that you could only access culture before cinema by learning to read and write, but that once cinema was invented, knowledge was available to anybody.

Isabella Rossellini

writing culture father

It's hard to make a living in any of the arts. When most people think of artists, they think of the stars and the celebrities. But that's such a tiny minority of the elites who are able to make those millions of dollars. The reality is that it's very hard for the rest to make a living as an artist. So, you really have to persevere and understand that achieving the sort of success where you're making the big money is like winning the lottery.

Isabella Rossellini

stars reality art