Isabella Rossellini Quotes That Are dramatic, iconic and versatile

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Although Dorothy in Blue Velvet was humiliated and hurt by men, basically I could react to how she felt.

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.

But I don't really see myself as a role model.

I'm not a dictator, or someone who wants to be adored!

I didn't want to become an actress because the competition with my mother would have been to much to live up to.

You dont do an experimental film to become rich, so the people who are involved are involved because they enjoy the creative aspect of it.

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

I am the daughter of Mr. Neo-realism: I should gravitate towards narrative simply told, character, the truth. And I do love those movies.

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.

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

I have the most fun writing and directing. And I always choose myself as the lead actor.

I don't think a Hollywood actor is safe from acting in the rain: it all depends on the film.

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.

I always loved experimenting in film.

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.

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

Food is a big part of my culture, so everyone knows how to cook.

When I came to America and asked a babysitter to softboil an egg for my son and she didn't know how, I was shocked.

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

I am now at an age when they wanted me to play her mother.

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

There is this idea that you have to play heroines or women who succeed.

I like to extend myself as an actress and David really helped me.

When David left me I became totally brokenhearted.

I was always fascinated by the infinite, strange and 'scandalous' ways that insects copulate.

If you're sad and you like beer, I'm your lady, ... The Saddest Music in the World.

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

Mama wrote a letter to my father saying' I want to work with you' and she ended the letter saying' in Italian I can only say ti amo( I love you)' and of course the press used that to say women are sexual predators, in 1949 they made a first film together,' Stromboli', and they fell in love and my mother became pregnant with my brother Roberto before she could obtain a divorce.

In America, they are paranoid about ruining the reputations of people once they are dead and cannot answer back. They have this fascination which to me seems cruel and morbid. I do not want any part of it.