Rossellini takes marketing job

Isabella Rossellini, the actress and model Lancme said it was going to drop because she was too old, is to become vice president of marketing at rival skincare, fragrance and cosmetics company Lancaster Group Worldwide.

Rossellini will not act as the “face” for the Lancaster brands, which include suncare products and the Joop! fragrances. Instead, she will work with Lancaster’s creative team to advise the firm on its brand image and new product development.

Rossellini has been the model for Lancme since 1987.

The company had already announced that it would terminate Rossellini’s contract by 1996, saying that, at 40, she was too old to be the “face” for its brand.

A Lancme spokeswoman says the company has now “amicably to bring forward the termination of the contract to 1995”.

Lancme will retain the rights to use Rossellini’s image in its advertising, although the company is now looking for a new, younger model.