Isabella Rossellini has paid tribute to her former partner and collaborator David Lynch, saying she “loved him so much”.
The death of the US filmmaker, whose work included surrealist TV series Twin Peaks and films such as The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, at the age of 78 was announced on Thursday.
It came five months after Lynch revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic lung disease, after “many years of smoking”.
In a Friday Instagram post, Italian-born US star Rossellini shared an image with Lynch, who gave her the breakthrough role in neo-noir mystery thriller Blue Velvet.
The actress, who also worked with Lynch on Wild At Heart, wrote: “I loved him so much. Thanks for all your kind messages.”
Rossellini, the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, was Bafta nominated earlier this week for her supporting role as a nun in drama Conclave.
Also paying tribute was British actress Naomi Watts, Sir Ringo Starr, Wolverine star Hugh Jackman The Police singer Sting, Oscar winner Nicholas Cage, along with actors from Twin Peaks.
Watts wrote on Instagram that Lynch “put me on the map” with her 2001 break-out film Mulholland Drive, about the dark side of Hollywood, which earned him the award for best director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival alongside an Oscar nod.
“It wasn’t just his art that impacted me – his wisdom, humour, and love gave me a special sense of belief in myself I’d never accessed before,” she added.
Watts said Lynch “seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of” as she revealed she was “in pieces” over his death.
Two-time Oscar nominee Watts later featured in Lynch’s film Inland Empire as Suzie Rabbit, a role she played in his 2002 project Rabbits, as well as the revival of his hit series Twin Peaks, starring as Janey-E Jones in 2017.
Sting, who starred in Lynch’s Dune as the red-haired cruel antagonist Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, wrote: “David was a modern giant of the avant garde. I am so proud to have worked with him on the first Dune movie.”
Monty Pyton star Terry Gilliam wrote on Instagram: “David was an absolutely unique mind … something that is lacking in the world of cinema today. A great loss.”
Mystery movie Blue Velvet launched Lynch into the mainstream but prompted controversy with its violent and sexual content, despite securing him an Oscar nomination for best director.
However, Lynch achieved worldwide stardom with the release of Twin Peaks, co-created with Mark Frost, following eccentric FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) who visits a quaint town to investigate the murder of a 17-year-old.
Lynch returned to develop and write Twin Peaks: The Return, released in 2017, as MacLachlan came back to the role.
MacLachlan said he “owed” his “entire career, and life really, to his “vision” after Lynch originally cast him in 1984 sci-fi film Dune – based on the Frank Herbert novel.
“Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I’d ever met,” he also said.
“My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he’s gone.”
MacLachlan, who also starred in Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet, said he will “remain forever changed” because of their friendship.
Lara Flynn Boyle, who played Donna Hayward in the early 1990s series, said “there goes the true Willy Wonka of filmmaking” in a statement.
“I feel like I got the golden ticket getting a chance to work with him. He will be greatly missed,” she added.
Cage, who starred in the 1990 road trip film Wild At Heart which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, described Lynch as “one of the greatest artists of this or any time”.
“I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold,” he also said.
Lynch was known for the dreamlike, surreal quality of his work, epitomised in 1980 film The Elephant Man – which secured Lynch Oscar nods for best director and best writing, and was loosely based on the life of Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man who lived in London in the late 19th century.
We are saddened to hear that Legendary Film Director David Lynch has died. The master filmmaker of award-winning films including Mulholland Drive and The Elephant Man which shot at Shepperton Studios, and genre-defying TV series, Twin Peaks. Our thoughts are with his loved ones. pic.twitter.com/UBylKW5klA
— Pinewood Studios (@PinewoodStudios) January 17, 2025
Pinewood Studios, who now run Surrey-based film studio Shepperton Studios where The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive were shot, wrote on X they were “saddened” by the news, and said their “thoughts are with his loved ones”.
Following three Oscar nominations, the Academy presented Lynch with the honorary award in 2019 for “fearlessly breaking boundaries in pursuit of his singular cinematic vision”.
Born in Missoula, Montana, Lynch began a career in painting before switching to making short films during the 1960s.
He was also known for the 1970s feature-length film, Eraserhead, his first, a black and white, surrealist body horror which follows Henry Spencer as he navigates a strange and gloomy industrial landscape filled with characters such as The Lady In The Radiator.
He also directed 1997’s Lost Highway, and 1999’s The Straight Story, and made a foray into music, releasing three of his own studio albums, working with Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O and Swedish singer Lykke Li.
Lynch’s family said “there’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us” as they confirmed his death, which came just days before his 79th birthday on January 20, on Facebook.
