Few children have arrived in the world under a brighter spotlight than Robin Rossellini. Born in Rome in February 1950, he was the only son of Swedish film legend Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini – and his birth turned an already notorious love affair into one of the biggest celebrity scandals of the 20th century.
Yet the man at the center of all that attention grew up to do something unusual for a member of a famous film family: he stepped away. While his twin sisters built public careers, Robin – known in the family as Robertino – has lived a largely private life, much of it far from cameras.
This guide pulls together what is actually on the public record about Robin Rossellini: his background, his parents, his siblings, his much-reported romance with a European princess, and where he appears today. Because he has never sought fame, reliable information about his adult life is limited, and this article says so clearly where the record runs thin.
Who Is Robin Rossellini?
Robin Rossellini is the first child of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, and Bergman’s only son. His birth date is widely recorded as 2 February 1950, in Rome, Italy (a small number of sources give 7 February, but 2 February is the date used by most reference works).
His full birth name is long and very Italian: it is usually given as Renato Roberto Ranaldo Giusto Giuseppe Rossellini, although some sources shorten or vary it, and a few refer to him as Roberto Ingmar Rossellini. Within the family and the press he has gone by two nicknames – “Robertino” (little Roberto) and “Robin.”
It is worth clearing up a common mix-up early. Searches for “Roberto Rossellini Jr.” often return a different person: Isabella Rossellini’s adopted son, also named Roberto, who has worked as a model. Some low-quality biography pages even attach an invented 1963 birth date to “Ingrid Bergman’s son.” Robin is the 1950-born son of Bergman and Rossellini; Isabella’s son is his nephew.
Family Background: Born at the Height of a Hollywood Scandal
To understand Robin Rossellini’s story, you have to understand the circumstances of his birth.
In 1948, Ingrid Bergman – then one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, with Casablanca, Gaslight and Notorious behind her – wrote a letter to Roberto Rossellini offering to work with him. The Italian director was already famous for neorealist classics such as Rome, Open City (1945) and Paisan (1946). They began filming Stromboli together, and a love affair followed.
The problem was that both were married to other people. Bergman was the wife of Swedish doctor Petter Lindström, with whom she had a daughter, Pia. Rossellini was married to costume designer Marcella De Marchis. When Bergman became pregnant, the affair became an international scandal; in the United States, she was publicly condemned and effectively frozen out of Hollywood for years.
Robin was born in the same month Stromboli opened. Because Bergman was still legally married to Lindström at the time, Italian law of the period created a complication: according to IMDb’s biographical notes, his birth certificate named only Roberto Rossellini as a parent, since a child born to a married woman would otherwise be presumed to be her husband’s.
Bergman and Rossellini married in May 1950 in Mexico, a few months after Robin’s birth. Two years later, on 18 June 1952, the couple had twin daughters, Isabella and Isotta Ingrid.
Parents: Two Giants of World Cinema
- Roberto Rossellini (1906–1977) was one of the founding figures of Italian neorealism and later a pioneer of educational television. His work influenced Federico Fellini and the French New Wave.
- Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) won three Academy Awards and remains one of the most admired actresses in film history. She died in London on her 67th birthday.
Their marriage did not last. In 1957, while making a documentary in India, Rossellini began a relationship with screenwriter Sonali Das Gupta, and he and Bergman separated. Their marriage formally ended in the late 1950s (sources differ on the exact date of the annulment). In December 1958, Bergman married Swedish theatre producer Lars Schmidt, who became Robin’s stepfather.
Robin Rossellini’s Siblings and Wider Family
The Rossellini family tree is famously complicated, spread across several marriages and continents. Robin has full siblings, half-siblings on both sides, and an adopted half-brother.
Full siblings: His twin sisters, born in 1952. Isabella Rossellini became an internationally known model and actress – the long-time face of Lancôme and star of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Isotta Ingrid Rossellini chose an academic path and has lived in New York.
Half-siblings through his mother: Pia Lindström, born in 1938, from Bergman’s first marriage.
Half-siblings through his father: From Roberto Rossellini’s marriage to Marcella De Marchis came Marco Romano (1937–1946), who died as a child, and Renzo Rossellini, born in 1941, who worked in film production. From his father’s relationship with Sonali Das Gupta came a daughter born in 1958, Raffaella, who has gone by the name Nur. Roberto Rossellini also adopted Sonali’s son Arjun, renamed Gil Rossellini (1956–2008).
Nieces and nephews in the public eye include Isabella’s daughter, Elettra Wiedemann, and Renzo’s son, Alessandro Rossellini, the director’s first grandson – who would later turn the camera on Robin himself.
Simple Family and Relationship Table
| Relationship | Name | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Robin (Robertino) Rossellini | Born 2 February 1950, Rome |
| Father | Roberto Rossellini | Italian film director (1906–1977) |
| Mother | Ingrid Bergman | Swedish actress, three-time Oscar winner (1915–1982) |
| Stepfather | Lars Schmidt | Swedish theatre producer; married Bergman in 1958 |
| Twin sisters | Isabella & Isotta Ingrid Rossellini | Born 18 June 1952 |
| Maternal half-sister | Pia Lindström | Born 1938, from Bergman’s first marriage |
| Paternal half-brothers | Renzo Rossellini; Marco Romano Rossellini | Renzo born 1941; Marco Romano died in 1946 |
| Paternal half-sister | Raffaella “Nur” Rossellini | Born 1958 |
| Adopted half-brother | Gil Rossellini | 1956–2008 |
| Nephew | Alessandro Rossellini | Director of The Rossellinis (2020) |
| Reported romance | Princess Caroline of Monaco | Early 1980s |
| Spouse / children | Not publicly documented | No reliable public record found |
Career and Personal Identity
This is where honesty matters more than word count. Unlike his sisters, Robin Rossellini has never built a public career in film, fashion, or media, and there is no reliable, verifiable record of his professional life. Pages online that list a specific profession, business, or net worth for him do not cite trustworthy sources, so they are left out here.
What is well documented is the identity he became known for. In the 2020 documentary The Rossellinis, his nephew Alessandro describes him as a mix of two seemingly opposite things – a former international playboy and a recluse. Reviewers of the film repeatedly note that Robin had a reputation as a strikingly handsome young man and a fixture of the European social scene, before retreating into a very private life.
That contrast is the real story of Robin Rossellini. He was born as front-page news, came of age as one of the most photographed young men of his circle, and then chose distance.
Notable Public Moments
A Childhood Under the Camera
From his first weeks, Robertino was a press subject. Photo archives are full of images of Ingrid Bergman carrying or walking with her young son in Italy, taken while the scandal was still headline material. For the paparazzi of the early 1950s, the baby was proof of the romance the world was arguing about.
The Princess Caroline Romance
Robin’s most famous adult headline came in the early 1980s. After Princess Caroline of Monaco – the daughter of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly – divorced her first husband, Philippe Junot, she was romantically linked with Robertino Rossellini. Several European publications and IMDb’s trivia pages describe the relationship as a brief engagement.
The romance did not lead to marriage. In 1983, Caroline married Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi. For a short time, though, the pairing captured the imagination of the tabloid press: the son of Hollywood’s most famous scandal and the daughter of Hollywood’s most famous princess.
The Rossellinis (2020)
Robin’s most significant recent public appearance came through family. The Rossellinis, directed by Alessandro Rossellini, premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival (in the International Critics’ Week section) and later screened at DOC NYC. The film follows Alessandro as he visits Roberto Rossellini’s children – Isabella, Ingrid, Renzo, Nur and Robin – to explore how a famous surname shaped each of their lives.
In it, Robin appears on camera at his home in Sweden. Italian reviewers summarized the contrast neatly: Isabella made the family name work for her, while her brother Robin chose the life of a hermit on an island.
The Personal Side: Life on Ingrid Bergman’s Island
According to reviews of The Rossellinis, Robin lives on Dannholmen (sometimes spelled Danholmen), a small island in the archipelago off Fjällbacka, a fishing village on Sweden’s west coast.
The location carries enormous family meaning. Dannholmen belonged to Lars Schmidt, Robin’s stepfather, who first brought Ingrid Bergman there in 1958. She spent nearly every summer on the island until her death in 1982, and called the area her paradise. Visitors over the years reportedly included Alfred Hitchcock. After she died, most of Bergman’s ashes were scattered in the sea around Dannholmen; Lars Schmidt’s ashes were scattered there too in 2010.
Today, Fjällbacka honours her with a bust in a square renamed Ingrid Bergmans Torg. For Robin, the island is not a tourist landmark but the place most tied to his mother’s memory – which makes his decision to live there easy to understand, even if he rarely speaks publicly about it.
As for his own relationships and family: there is no reliable public information about whether Robin Rossellini has married or has children. Rather than repeat unverified claims, this article leaves that question open.
Recent Public Visibility
Robin Rossellini keeps an extremely low profile. He does not appear to maintain any public social media presence, and outside The Rossellinis (2020), he has made few documented public appearances in recent years.
Interest in his family, however, keeps resurfacing. The 2025 documentary Roberto Rossellini – Living Without a Script (Italian title: Roberto Rossellini, più di una vita), which examines his father’s life from 1956 onward and the unravelling of the Bergman marriage, won the 2026 David di Donatello for Best Documentary and has screened at festivals across Europe and in Jerusalem through 2026. Each new wave of attention to Rossellini and Bergman sends readers searching for the son whose birth started it all.
Frequently Asked Questions About Robin Rossellini
Who is Robin Rossellini?
Robin Rossellini is the only son of actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini. Born in Rome in February 1950, he is also known as Robertino and is the older brother of twins Isabella and Isotta Ingrid Rossellini.
How old is Robin Rossellini?
Based on his widely recorded birth date of 2 February 1950, Robin Rossellini is 76 years old as of October 2026.
What is Robin Rossellini’s full name?
His full birth name is usually given as Renato Roberto Ranaldo Giusto Giuseppe Rossellini. He is known as Robertino or Robin.
Is Robin Rossellini related to Isabella Rossellini?
Yes. Isabella Rossellini is his younger sister. She and her twin, Isotta Ingrid, were born in 1952, two years after Robin.
Was Robin Rossellini engaged to Princess Caroline of Monaco?
They were romantically linked in the early 1980s after Caroline’s divorce from Philippe Junot, and several sources describe a brief engagement. It did not lead to marriage; Caroline married Stefano Casiraghi in 1983.
Where does Robin Rossellini live?
According to reviews of the 2020 documentary The Rossellinis, he lives on Dannholmen, an island near Fjällbacka on Sweden’s west coast where his mother spent her summers and where her ashes were scattered.
Is Robin Rossellini the same person as Isabella Rossellini’s son Roberto?
No. Isabella’s adopted son, also named Roberto Rossellini, is Robin’s nephew. The shared name causes frequent confusion in online biographies.
Does Robin Rossellini have a wife or children?
There is no reliable public information about a spouse or children. He has kept his personal life private.
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