Isabella Rossellini

“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.”

“My films are comical films. They are made to laugh at. They are comical - and scientifically correct.”

“Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved animals and been fascinated with them.”

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

“I've always been an entertainer all my life; I come from a family of entertainers. I always made, very pretentiously, a comparison with Agatha Christie. Her inspiration was crime, and I'm sure she must have taken courses or read about crime, because it was the basis of her stories. But ultimately, it was her own fantasy.”

“Market research shows that older women like seeing older women in ads, and that younger women do, too - because they see them and are not frightened of growing older.”

“I always encourage women to let their individuality show by not covering up what they perceive as flaws. When I see a woman with the natural wrinkles of time on her face, I do not see the wrinkles at all, but when I see a woman trying to cover them up with too much foundation or concealer, all I see are her wrinkles.”

“I live in New York, and the only live animals you see are cockroaches, rats and pigeons, which I admire immensely. When I see an animal that thrives in the garbage, I feel relief; in our urban environment, other animals are dying out.”

“But I don't really see myself as a role model. I'm not a dictator, or someone who wants to be adored!”

“If a hamster has too many babies she knows she cannot carry, she not only abandons them, but she eats them. That means she doesn't have to go out and hunt for food for herself.”

“I'd love to meet Darwin. He caused such controversy over whether God created the earth in six days or whether we evolved over time. I'd love to discuss that with him - what a fantastic conversation!”

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