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Isabella Rossellini, 69, says she's 'more joyful as an older person'

Actress Isabella Rossellini, 69, says she's
Actress Isabella Rossellini, 69, says she's "more joyful as an older person." (Photo: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

At 69, Isabella Rossellini is loving life. In fact, the beloved actress says she's happier than ever.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the star of stage and screen, who portrays cookbook author Simca Beck in the new series Julia, reminisced about the ups and downs of life as she moves toward age 70.

“I’m happy to have lived a long life, but the fact that the future is so short is a little worrisome. But you have that feeling that you should enjoy your day, and I have become more joyful as an older person," she shared.

Overall, the Blue Velvet star says she's filled with a sense of gratitude for everything she has experienced.

"I think you start to appreciate the luck and the fantastic people that you have met, the fantastic opportunities you have had. I have become very grateful," she said. "But it is a little bit sad that life isn’t longer. Or for ever. It is a little sad.”

Rossellini went on say that she's hardly sitting at home without anything to do. In fact, she'd love a little less activity on her schedule.

“I wish I had a little less because my days are all taken,” she said. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.”

Of course, Rossellini admits she has gone through lulls in her illustrious career. The daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, she was told by her superstar mother that there could be downtime in her career as she grew older.

"My mum had warned me about this lull," said the Joy actress. “Nowadays there are TV series that didn’t exist then, so actresses who were older did theatre, and Mum worked in the theatre as an older actress in London. She lived there the last years of her life and loved it.”

Rossellini has expanded her skills far beyond acting. After seeing the lack of roles for older actresses, she decided to go back to school.

"When I started to work less as an actress and a model, because there are not many roles for older actress, I went back to university," she told Town & Country in 2019. She went on to earned a Master's degree in animal behavior and conservation from Hunter College that same year.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Rossellini lives on a 28-acre organic farm on Long Island where she regularly tends to the animals, which range from chickens and ducks to goats and sheep.

“It’s a mile away, so I’m there every day. We have staff, but if anyone needs help I’ll do it. I check on the animals, feed them, clean the coops," she shared.

Instead of trying to prove anyone wrong, Rossellini is finding the joy in life, no matter her age. Back in 2018, Rossellini told InStyle that her approach to aging is "to embrace it."

"I never feel like, 'Oh, I wish I were 35.' When you’re young, you have the pressure to earn money, prove yourself. I had to be a beauty, an actress, and do the red carpet. The fact that I was interested in animals or running a farm had no value," explained Rossellini. "So age has given me time to do all the things I’ve always wanted to do. I feel richer in a way."

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