Isabella Rossellini is proving that science can be funny and sexy and an unforgettable learning experience. In the process, she has given herself a makeover, gone back to college and found her joie de vivre in writing, directing and acting out on animal instincts.

Her latest book, Green Porno, published in 2009 by HarperCollins, contains stories, photographs and a DVD starring Rossellini as you have never seen her. In a quirky transformation, she goes from standing in a kitchen—cooking risotto with shrimp—to showing how a shrimp gets in the mating mood. She invites you to laugh, to look closer and to think, “Oh, I didn’t know that about animals!”

Green Porno is based on a series of short films she created for the Sundance Channel. (Her first series of films showed common insects hooking up; the new series has sea creatures in love.) Online, the films have grabbed millions of viewers. Her cheeky, playful depiction of sex in the sea could just be the most fun she’s ever had in front of the camera—and Rossellini has had a lot of exposure.

“It’s my favorite thing, to play, so I don’t deny it; I encourage it in myself because being playful, it’s very pleasant,” Rossellini tells SUCCESS in her elegant, lilting accent with Swedish, French and Italian influences. “I understand that some people might feel embarrassed, especially when it comes to science, because you always have to prove yourself to be a serious person, so there is resistance to making science comical. But the fact that I come from entertainment allows me to do it. And actually I have a lot of support from scientists now. I receive a lot of fan mail, and most of it is from scientists, so it fi lls me with pleasure.”

The scientific interest surprises her “because when you read their books, they’re always so serious and sometimes boring and tedious,” she says. “There isn’t much fun. I think they’re craving it.”

Pursuing Her Passion—Finally
Green Porno is an offbeat and original result of Rossellini’s lifelong interest in animal behavior. Experience has given her great freedom to concentrate on what she likes, now that she’s proven herself as a model and actress, says the 57-year-old Rossellini, who is also active in environmental issues and preservation efforts.

When you see one of the world’s most photographed faces of the 1980s turning herself into an amorous anchovy or luminous squid, you recognize the beauty of her brilliance. The result is pure amore for her art. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given her background in storytelling.

Rossellini is the daughter of screen legend Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rossellini. Raised in Paris and Rome, she has a twin sister, Ingrid; a brother, Roberto; and a half sister, Pia Lindström (and four other half siblings). The life she depicts in her first book, Some of Me, published in 1997 by Random House, is an illuminating, if not always bright, picture.

Her upbringing was unconventional and sometimes chaotic. At 13, she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a rotation of the vertebrae that twists the spine. She spent two years undergoing painful body casts and surgery. Rossellini says the physical pain taught her to “go marble,” her term for checking out of her own body. Miserable and feeling suffocated in the classroom, she dropped out of high school. She drew comfort in her numerous pets and cultivated a lifelong fondness for animals. At 19, she moved to New York to study English and attended Finch College.

At 27, she made her first film, The Meadow, and experienced deep selfdoubt when critics called her “too green.” At 28, she began modeling. The engaging results were featured in her 2002 book, Looking at Me: On Pictures and Photographs, published by Schirmer/ Mosel.

Her striking features—dark eyes, full lips, famous cheekbones— landed her on hundreds of magazine covers internationally, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair. For 14 years, she was the face of Lancôme cosmetics, until one day the curtain fell—a result of the company’s concern about her age. Rossellini got back into acting with films like Blue Velvet, Cousins, Wild at Heart, Fearless, Immortal Beloved, The Funeral and Big Night. She has also appeared in numerous TV shows, including 30 Rock.

Today, Rossellini acts, writes, produces, laughs and lives on Long Island (with an apartment in Manhattan). She has a daughter, Elettra, 26, and a son, Roberto, 16.

Mustering the Chutzpah
Like the firefly that lights up in search of he right connection, Rossellini glows with new ideas, storyboard sketches and a devoted curiosity for the natural world. You hear it in her voice when she talks about Darwin’s work with animals and see it when she dresses in her firefly costume, a black body leotard with a blinking light on her fantail. She’s having enormous fun lighting things up—why hide it?

Actor, filmmaker and Sundance founder Robert Redford had the idea that the Web could be an important outlet for short films with environmental themes. And Rossellini recognized an opportunity to adapt her love of classic short films like those of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton for small screens, such as mobile devices. Redford gave her the green light and the funding to get started.

“I knew if I didn’t muster the chutzpah to make my writing and directorial debut in my late 50s, I probably never would,” she writes in Green Porno, which launched the week of the Toronto Film Festival, where Green Porno films were screened.

In the films and book, she imagines herself as a particular animal and demonstrates the associative lovemaking. The content is witty, concise and scientifically correct, as are the anatomical terms.

A Lifelong Learner
To get in the spirit of the thing, she begins her creative process in a classroom at New York University, where she takes a course each semester. Her research gives the films their authenticity. “It’s helpful because they [NYU officials] guide you through fulfilling your curiosities by editing for you which books you should read,” she says. “I like to make these comical films about science, but I need the information.”

Rossellini embraces the learning process. She finds it easier now than when she was a child who didn’t like school. Back then, she would make up content when writing school reports. Teachers were quick to scold: You didn’t follow the assignment. Instead of studying, you just used your imagination. You don’t need that for school.

“School, inevitably, is a place of great authority and hierarchy, and I was so very afraid of the teacher. There was something about school that intimidated me, scared me,” she says. “Now, as an adult, I am not as afraid. I’m the oldest one, not only of my other students, but I’m much older than my teachers. The fear of them has subsided.”

Now that her new book is out and her studies continue, her next steps are in the development stage. “I am discussing with Sundance the possibility of doing a new series that I call right now ‘Sexual Selection.’ And it would be on how animals seduce each other. It would be on courtship, because it’s very interesting how there are different strategies to court and conquer a mate. That is one possibility,” Rossellini says. “I’m also thinking of doing a more classical format, the hour format for television…. I would like also to branch out, because of the success of Green Porno, and take advantage of the success to become a more official director/producer/writer. This would count for maybe my getting into the Writers Guild and having my pension. All these are considerations in life.”

Rossellini says she wishes she had listened to the wisdom of her famous parents sooner. They told her: Follow your heart and do what you like, and there’s a good chance you’ll discover where your talent lies. Having found her path of creative expression, Rossellini focuses today on that nugget of wisdom. “I do what I like,” she says. “Do what you like.”