Isabella Rossellini Addresses Martin Scorsese’s ‘Rage’ During Marriage

Isabella Rossellini got candid about her marriage to Martin Scorsese and his struggles with anger in the new Apple TV documentary Mr. Scorsese.

The 73-year-old actress and the 82-year-old Oscar-winning director were married from 1979 to 1982, a period that coincided with the making of two of Scorsese’s iconic films — 1980’s Raging Bull and 1982’s The King of Comedy.

In the series, the daughter of Hollywood legends Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini recalled Scorsese’s explosive outbursts, which, while never directed at her physically, created a challenging environment.

‘He could get really angry,’ Rossellini said in the third episode of the series, before clarifying, ‘Not toward me.’ 

She continued, ‘He never hit me or anything like that, but he could demolish a room. A friend of his once filmed him and showed it to him. 

‘Marty was shocked because he didn’t realize the level of violence that this minuscule body, asthmatic, could [create.] It was like a volcano. It was terrifying.’

Isabella Rossellini got candid about her marriage to Martin Scorsese and his struggles with anger in the new Apple TV documentary Mr. Scorsese; (pictured 2025)

The 73-year-old actress and the 82-year-old Oscar-winning director were married from 1979 to 1982, a period that coincided with the making of two of Scorsese’s iconic films — 1980’s Raging Bull and 1982’s The King of Comedy; (pictured 2025)

In the series, the daughter of Hollywood legends Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini recalled Scorsese’s explosive outbursts, which, while never directed at her physically, created a challenging environment; (pictured 1981)

Rossellini added, ‘I don’t even remember why he got so mad. I think that sometimes it could be a very silly little reason that would make him go over the top. 

‘Sometimes he [would] wake up like, “F— it, f— it, f— it,” and I would say “Marty, the day hasn’t even started.” 

‘Then I understood that partially also this rage was part of the fuel to give him courage; because you know, he was this little boy from Little Italy and was now this big director who had to direct this big film and big budget. 

‘And I think rage gave him that stamina to get through the day, to get to finish the film, because it’s not easy. So it was complex to be with him.’

In the documentary, Scorsese reflected on his own struggles at the time. 

He admitted he was ‘having personal problems so severely that I couldn’t edit’ The King of Comedy, and the movie nearly slipped out of his control.

‘Very much so, yeah,’ he said when asked if he was depressed at that time. 

‘I never experienced such depression — trying to work, not being able to work, having problems, complaining, getting crazy. I would try to meet other people, I would try to start to have relationships, never worked.’

‘He could get really angry,’ Rossellini said in the third episode of the series, before clarifying, ‘Not toward me’; (pictured 1979)

She continued, ‘He never hit me or anything like that, but he could demolish a room. A friend of his once filmed him and showed it to him,’ (pictured 1984)

‘Marty was shocked because he didn’t realize the level of violence that this minuscule body, asthmatic, could [create.] It was like a volcano. It was terrifying’ (pictured 1990)

‘If it wasn’t for the doctor, five days a week, phone calls on the weekend, strong, steady work on straightening my head out, I’d be dead,’ he added. 

‘I was on medication that was very strong, and I was getting through. It was very lonely, but it was my doing.’

Scorsese’s marriage to Rossellini was his third; he has been married five times in total and has been with Helen Morris since 1999. 

He shares daughter Francesca, 25, with Morris; daughter Cathy, 59, with his first wife Laraine Marie Brennan; and daughter Domenica, 49, with journalist Julia Cameron.

Rossellini later married model-turned-Microsoft executive Jon Wiedemann from 1983 to 1986, and they share daughter Elettra Wiedemann, 42. 

Rossellini is also mom to Roberto Rossellini, 43.