Rossy de Palma
Acting • Born 1964-09-16
Biography
Described by many as a Picasso come-to-life, de Palma broke the rules of beauty in 1988 when she starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and became a model and muse for designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, and Sybilla. Her status as an iconic fashion character was further cemented with her role in Robert Altman’s 1994 satirical fashion film Prêt-à-Porter. Today, she is a theater actress, charity spokesperson for the Ghanian Charity OrphanAid Africa, and the face of luxury ad campaigns. Born in Palma de Mallorca, she was originally a singer and dancer for the band Peor Imposible before being discovered by filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar at a café in Madrid in 1986. He cast her in roles based on her unique, Picassoesque appearance. She is best known for her roles in Almodóvar films like La ley del deseo (Law of Desire), Kika, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and La flor de mi secreto (The Flower of My Secret). She acts in France and does modeling. She appeared in Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter as Pilar. In 2007, she released a perfume line under her name through the French cosmetics company Etat libre d'Orange. In 2009, she posed nude in an information campaign on breast cancer for the magazine Marie Claire. She currently lives in France with her two sons. She was selected to be on the jury for the main competition section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Filmography
126 credits
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
Movie • 1990
Camello en Vespa
Prêt-à-Porter
Movie • 1994
Pilar
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Movie • 1988
Marisa
The Flower of My Secret
Movie • 1995
Rosa
Broken Embraces
Movie • 2009
Julieta
Kika
Movie • 1993
Juana
Jean Paul Gaultier fait son show
Movie • 2018
Self
El refugio
Movie • 2021
No Pasaran
Movie • 2009
Inès
The Loss of Sexual Innocence
Movie • 1999
Blind Woman
Miss Tacuarembo
Movie • 2010
Patricia Peinado
Dead Weight
Movie • 2002
Pauline Reggio
Girlfriends
Movie • 2006
La mère de Marie
Chicken Park
Movie • 1996
Necrophilia
Leave Your Hands on My Hips
Movie • 2003
Myriam Bardem
Les Aristos
Movie • 2006
La duchesse Maria de Malaga i Benidorm
Talk of Angels
Movie • 1998
Elena
Don Juan, My Dear Ghost
Movie • 1990
Viuda de Prodini
Madonna: Truth or Dare
Movie • 1991
Self
Rose rosse per una squillo
Movie • 1993
Juliette
Apaches: Gang of Paris
Movie • 2023
Sarah Bernardt
Peggio di così si muore
Movie • 1995
Myrna
The House
Movie • 2022
Brigida
Rainbow
Movie • 2022
Second to Nun
Movie
Madame Laduree
Le vieux juif Blonde
Movie
Voyante
Aquí, el que no corre... vuela
Movie • 1992
Three Many Weddings
Movie • 2013
Madre de Ruth
Foul Play
Movie • 1998
Concepcion Alibera
A Body in the Woods
Movie • 1996
Teniente Cifuentes
&Me
Movie • 2013
Edurne's Mother
El viaje de Julieta
Movie • 2023
Self
I Don't Know Whether to Slit My Wrists or Leave Them Long
Movie • 2013
Lola
10 Years with Bebe
Movie • 2016
self
Dear Paris
Movie • 2024
Dolorès
Just a Little Chemistry
Movie • 2015
Bárbara Sullivan
Airbag
Movie • 1997
Carmiña, mujer de Pazos en una fotografía
Mutant Action
Movie • 1993
Invitada de lujo
Spy Time
Movie • 2015
Madre de Katia
Do Not Disturb
Movie • 2014
Maria
Double zéro
Movie • 2004
Le Monocle
3 Days Max
Movie • 2023
Alba Suarez
Nag la Bombe
Movie • 1999
Leïla
Julieta
Movie • 2016
Marian
The Family Jewels
Movie • 1991
Donatella
Franchesca Page
Movie • 1998
Veronica
La Femme du cosmonaute
Movie • 1997
Catherine
L'origine du monde
Movie • 2001
The Sphynx
Have You Met Claudia?
Movie • 2004
Aldo's Claudia
The Opera! Arias for an Eclipse
Movie • 2025
Moire
The Damned Rib
Movie • 1999
Margarita
Stranded
Movie • 2015
Mercè
Graziella
Movie • 2015
Graziella
Untied! Reflections on Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
Movie • 2014
Self
People : Jet Set 2
Movie • 2004
Pilar
The Material Boy
Movie • 2015
Self
French Cinema Mon Amour
Movie • 2015
Self
Día de caza
Movie • 2025
Rosa
Run a way
Movie • 2012
La benemérita
Lord, Give Me Patience
Movie • 2017
María Ramos
En tu cabeza
Movie • 2016
Milagros (Vecina)
The Exchange
Movie • 2017
Dómina
Toc Toc
Movie • 2017
Ana María
Madame
Movie • 2017
Maria
The Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirlwind of Sex and Politics
Movie • 1996
The Mule
Movie • 2000
La Colombienne
Brillantissime
Movie • 2018
Charline
Gigola
Movie • 2010
Dominique
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
Movie • 2014
Luna (voice)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Movie • 2018
Law of Desire
Movie • 1987
Locutora tele
Love of My Loves
Movie • 2014
Carmina
In The Rose Garden
Movie • 1990
Rosy
¡Ay, Carmen!
Movie • 2018
Self - Actress
À cause des filles…?
Movie • 2019
Artémis
Almodóvar, todo sobre ellas
Movie • 2016
Self
Despite Everything
Movie • 2019
Inés
My Brother Chases Dinosaurs
Movie • 2019
Auntie Rock / Zia Dolores
I Miss You
Movie • 2019
Rosaura
The Rodriguez and the Beyond
Movie • 2019
Doctora Pilar
A Mermaid in Paris
Movie • 2020
Rossy
Carmen
Movie • 2023
Masilda
The Naked Target
Movie • 1992
Dama 2
20 Centimeters
Movie • 2005
La Frío
Jean Paul Gaultier : Freak & Chic
Movie • 2018
Self
What's It All About
Movie • 1995
Librarian
Parallel Mothers
Movie • 2021
Elena
Do You Do You Saint-Tropez
Movie • 2021
Carmen
Black Is Beltza
Movie • 2018
Ruth Abramson (voice)
Sam's Enough
Movie • 1992
Chichi
Inside the Dream: Mugler
Movie • 2024
Self
The Sweet Taste of Success
Movie • 2022
Rossy de Palma
Bright Spin
Movie • 2012
Amie de Patrick
Honeymoon Crasher
Movie • 2025
Gloria
La Machine Mode
Movie • 1994
Self
Barcelona
Movie • 1994
girl in party
Estrella, cometa, satélite y planeta
Movie • 2025
Bitter Christmas
Movie • 2026
Gabriela
Becoming Capa
Movie
The White Princess
TV • 2017
Isabella I of Castile
Carrément craignos
TV • 2021
Héléna
Maestros de la costura
TV • 2018
Invitada
LOL - Last One Laughing Spain
TV • 2021
Self
De pé a pá
TV • 1996
Self
Anchored
TV • 2015
Palmira
La que se avecina
TV • 2007
María Luisa Romero
Drag Race France
TV • 2022
Self - Guest Judge
The Messiah
TV • 2023
Laia Baró (mayor)
Me resbala
TV • 2013
Self - Contestant
Cinco Tenedores
TV • 2022
Jueza
Escort Boys
TV • 2023
Mimi
Caterina e le sue figlie
TV • 2005
Estrella Toledo
Bailando con las estrellas
TV • 2018
Self - Contestant
Planeta Calleja
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
Dani&Flo con Lara Álvarez
TV • 2017
Self - Interviewee
Lo Siguiente
TV • 2018
Self - Presenter
Little Birds
TV • 2020
Contessa Mandrax
La resistencia
TV • 2018
Invitada
Once Upon a Time... Happily Never After
TV • 2022
Narrator (voice) / María / Mamen
Têtàtête(s)
TV • 2023
Self - Guest
Late Xou con Marc Giró
TV • 2023
Self - Guest
La Noche D
TV • 2021
Self - Guest
Drag Race España
TV • 2021
Self - Guest Judge
Pedro x Javis
TV • 2025
Self
La gran il·lusió, relat intermitent del cinema català
TV • 2019
Self (archive footage)
Danse avec les stars
TV • 2011
Self - Candidate