Hollywood has always been full of stars. While some achieve a dramatic peak and then swiftly disappear, others remain in the public eye for decades. Over the years, famous actresses like Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Jayne Mansfield, Raquel Welch, and Jean Harlow have garnered a lot of attention due to their natural talent and stunning appearance.
Even while they sat on the throne as industry queens, others were always waiting in the wings, desperate for the opportunity to take control. Sydne Rome, known as the “golden girl of the American Midwest,” was one such actress. Compared to other actresses, Sydne had a different route to fame in the entertainment industry. Instead, she traveled to Europe, where people were mesmerized by her golden hair and blue eyes. It is said that she dated David Bowie at one point.
Rome had the it factor, but she did not hold the limelight for too long. Despite this, she continues to be very active and has raised her own family throughout the years.
Unfortunately, one accident left her with a permanent facial disability. Sydne Rome was born in Akron, Ohio, on March 17, 1951. Sydne claims that her father worked in the plastics manufacturing sector and that her mother was a “born hippie”.
She is from an upper-middle-class family and grew up in Upper Sandusky, a small town of 5,000 residents. It has the highest per capita income of any American municipality, according to reports.
Childhood in Sydne, Rome
Throughout Hollywood history, there have been numerous examples of performers’ offspring achieving success on their own. Examples are Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, Dakota Johnson, whose parents were actresses Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and Miley Cyrus, daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus.
Alternatively, “nepo baby” is employed. “A more memorable way to describe the prosperous offspring of a celebrity—someone who rose to prominence on the shoulders of their gifted parent, frequently establishing themselves in the same or a related field,” Sky says.
Some individuals believe that having a well-known parent offers them access to contacts in the entertainment sector. Others, however, suffer because they feel compelled to equal their parents’ success and notoriety.
Sydne Rome did not care about this. Her family members had never considered a career in showbiz.
“Nothing in my family should have given me this craze for acting,” she said in a 1974 interview with the Daily News. “My father ran a plastics company, and my mother is just Mom.”
I have two younger brothers and two sisters. Rome went on to attend secondary school in Ohio, but her main focus at the time was acting. The little girl had aspirations for the future, but all changed as she spoke with her loved ones.
Instead, the term “nepo baby” is used. Sky defines this term as “a catchier way to say the successful child of a celebrity—someone who rode to fame on the coattails of their talented parent, often making a name for themselves in the same or an adjacent industry.” Because their parents are famous, some people have a wonderful opportunity to build contacts in the entertainment sector.
Others, however, struggle because they feel pressured to emulate their parents’ achievements and notoriety. Sydne Rome did not care about this. None of her family members had ever thought about going into show industry.
She told the Daily News in 1974 that “nothing in my family should have given me this craze for acting.” “My mother is just Mom, and my father owned a plastics company.” I have two sisters and two younger brothers.
Rome attended secondary school in Ohio, although she already had a keen interest in acting.
The little girl’s plans for the future were totally changed after speaking with those closest to her. After finishing school in Pennsylvania, the young actress moved to California. At the Pasadena Playhouse, she later rose to prominence as a performer. Rome had featured in Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Tennessee Williams shows, but his first foray into Hollywood was a bust.
She missed out on her first major role in the film Candy, which her agency sent to Rome, so she tried her luck in Europe after spending another year at the Pasadena Playhouse.
She was definitely a stunning woman. However, simply wearing nice clothes was not enough back then. “I had a terrible time in Rome with young Italian directors who wanted me to play in the nude,” she told the Daily News.
“I did not want to do it. I now see things differently. Now we play naked as part of our trade. I do not mind if it does not include graphic romantic scenes and is clearly essential to the plot. Sydne Rome primarily starred in low-budget Italian films during the 1970s.
Unlike Brigitte Bardot, however Her major break came in 1972 when she collaborated with Roman Polanski on the film What? In spite of the unfavorable reviews, the film represented a significant advancement for Sydne.
In 1973, she also married photographer and reporter Emilio Lari. By then, the young American actress had been linked to Brigitte Bardot. In 1979, the Sunday Telegraph referred to her as “the up-and-coming Jean Harlow or Raquel Welch, the ticking Sex Bomb of the nineteen-eighties.” That resemblance may have caused a lot of stress for a young actress. But it was accepted by Sydne.
[Brigitte] is vivacious, attractive, very accessible, and frank. She is every man’s dream. Perhaps I appear less accessible at first glance. However, I believe that viewers will have a change of heart and develop new beliefs. “And I am a better actress than Bardot,” she added.
Rome appeared to have everything she needed to succeed in Hollywood, but she never seemed to move forward. Her career was not much impacted by the 1969 release of Some Girls Do, her debut feature. Instead, she tried her luck in a new region of the world and appeared in several French, Italian, and German films.
Rome costarred with the legendary David Bowie in David Hemmings’ Just a Gigolo at the close of the 1970s. “We had a friendship.
When I went to Berlin for the initial [script] readings, I was told that they had not found the leading man. Because David [Bowie] was interested in Germany during the interwar years, I thought he would be interested in finishing this section. I requested permission to email him the script. “We did it, and he agreed,” she told NME in 2021.
To David Bowie, make love. She acknowledged that the two were apparently dating at one point in a subsequent interview with Italian television.
Rome said to me, “I immediately accepted [the offer for Just a Gigolo], and I met him because he called me to come to Paris to see his film premiere.” “We were together for a year. He was tasty, and funny, too. She lived in Rome for about ten years after Rome moved there.
She began performing in the 1980s and released several albums, none of which were very successful.
Among the many productions in which Synde appeared was the 1980 movie L’uomo puma [The Pumaman]. It is simple to assess its degree of success because the International Movie Database only gives it a 2.2 out of 10 rating. Rome also started making movies, such as a feature on Formula One that was filmed in Rio de Janeiro.
Though she was concerned that the film industry had evolved beyond simply producing wonderful films, she still aspired to be a major celebrity. “I am famous everywhere, except in America,” she informed me. “I enjoy working on creative projects, but I dislike the business aspect of my ‘job.'” An actress may believe that she is only a business asset and that the terms of her contract are the only factors that define her worth. “I can handle that; it is not just getting passes; being in movies can be terrible for a woman,” Sydne said incoherently. But you have to work hard for years before you are truly respected by others. Actresses are not expected to be smart.
“Perhaps that is why so many actors and actresses, especially women, feel insecure,” she added. My friends who are actors weep on each other’s shoulders. Since they don’t belong to any one class—they’re neither aristocrats nor middle-class or lower-class—actors find it easy to make acquaintances.
Sydne Rome suffered permanent injuries in an automobile accident.
Unfortunately, Rome and Emilio’s marriage did not endure. According to Corriere, she remarried doctor Roberto Bernabei, and the two decided to adopt two sisters, Vanessa and Jesse, from the favelas of São Paulo. He became well-known as a doctor and, in 2021, was appointed as Pope Francis’ personal doctor.
Rome’s career went on, and she starred in a number of films, but the US was never the place where she got her big break. In spite of this, she found more important things in life, including a peaceful and loving family.
Then, in 2009, things changed forever in Sydne Rome’s life. While operating her vehicle and transporting one of her eight-year-old children, she was involved in a serious collision.
Rome claimed to have driven her car for the first time after three weeks in the garage during an interview with the Italian chat show Vieni da Me.
When Sydne swerved off the road and struck a tree, she was traveling with her child. She suffered serious injuries when the airbag exploded on her face.
Rome added, “I went to the hospital, and they stitched up my skin,” adding that the doctors were not aware that she had suffered facial muscle damage in the accident. “After a while, that part of my face became paralyzed, so I had physical therapy ten years ago, and I feel a little better today.”
Sydne claimed she could not identify her face in old pictures because of the alteration on her right side. “I know it is me, but it is like seeing someone else again,” Sydne Rome said today. Despite her serious injuries, Sydne was adamant on persevering.
She continues to work in the entertainment sector; her most recent appearance was in the Italian film La Quattordicesima Domenica Del Tempo Ordinario, which came out in 2023.
Furthermore, between 2021 and 2022, Sydne, who is already 72 years old, made 53 appearances in episodes of the Italian television series Don Matteo.
Sydne Rome has always followed her passions even though she has not succeeded in becoming the next Brigette Bardot. Despite the sad accident, she has continued to pursue her interest.
