EFA honours Isabella Rossellini with European Achievement in World Cinema award

On the occasion of this year’s 37th European Film Awards and in recognition of a unique contribution to  the world of film, the European Film Academy presents the actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini with the European Achievement in World Cinema award for her outstanding body of work.

Isabella Rossellini grew up in Paris and Rome. When she was 19, she moved to New York City, working as a translator and a journalist for the Italian Television RAI. She began a modelling career at the relatively advanced age of 28, appearing on numerous covers of magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair. An enduring style icon, in 1982 Isabella Rossellini began a 14-year run as the exclusive spokesperson for Lancôme. When she turned 40, an age considered too advanced to represent the beauty industry, her contract was not renewed. Isabella launched her own cosmetics brand, Manifesto, and in 2016 Lancôme hired her again as a spokesperson with the specific intent to promote inclusiveness and fight against ‘ageism’.

Isabella Rossellini made her cinematic debut as an actress in 1979 in the Taviani brother’s film Die Wiese and has appeared in numerous other films since then, including the feature films Blue Velvet and Joy. She worked with many different directors like Robert Zemeckis, David O. Russell, David Lynch, Robert Wilson, Taylor Hackford, Marjane Satrapi and Guy Maddin.

She is also a successful television actress and filmmaker, with a keen interest in animals and wildlife conservation. Her award-winning series of shorts, Green Porno, Seduce Me and Mammas offer comical and scientifically insightful studies of animal behaviours. She also toured in over 50 cities on three different continents (America, Europe and Australia) with her theatrical monologues.

Isabella has a master’s degree on Animal Behaviour and Conservation from Hunter College in New York City and has received a PhD Honoris Causa from the Science Faculty at UQAM (University of Quebec at Montreal).

Isabella Rossellini’s philanthropic interests embrace the preservation of her family’s extraordinary cinematic heritage, including the films directed by her father, Roberto Rossellini, about whom she has written, and those featuring her mother, Ingrid Bergman. She also runs an organic farm in Brookhaven called Mama Farm.

For her outstanding work, Isabella Rossellini has received a Special Mention at the Berlinale for her exceptional performance in Left Luggage, the Berlinale Camera 2013, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Stockholm Film Festival 2020 and a Special David (the Italian national film award) in 2023.