Sydne Rome, born March 17, 1951, in Akron, Ohio, was raised in nearby Upper Sandusky by a plastics‑company president father and a free‑spirited mother. Unlike many “nepo babies,” she came from a non-entertainment background, but developed a passion for acting while still in Ohio. After high school she studied theater at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, followed by a stint at the Pasadena Playhouse, where she performed works by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Tennessee Williams.
Her early Hollywood pursuits didn’t take off—Sydne lost out on the lead in the film Candy, which prompted her return to Europe. There, her striking blonde hair and blue eyes quickly landed her roles in Italian, French, and German films in the late 1960s and ’70s. Notably, she starred in Roman Polanski’s What? (1972), and earned comparisons to Brigitte Bardot, being called “the next Brigitte Bardot”.
In 1973, she married photographer Emilio Lari. By the late 1970s, she appeared opposite David Bowie in Just a Gigolo. Sydne later confirmed they were romantically involved for about a year after meeting through the film’s production. She remained in Rome for nearly a decade, and in the 1980s recorded workout videos and music albums (e.g., Aerobic Fitness Dancing), though these ventures saw limited success.
Rome’s personal life continued to evolve: after divorcing Lari, she married Italian gerontologist Dr. Roberto Bernabei in 1987, converted to Catholicism, and the couple adopted two daughters from São Paulo. Bernabei later became Pope Francis’s physician in 2021.
In 2009, while driving with her eight-year-old daughter, she suffered a serious car crash. The deployment of the airbag led to facial disfigurement, with resulting muscle damage and partial paralysis that required years of physical rehabilitation. As she later reflected, “When I look at old photos… I know it’s me, but it feels like looking at a stranger”.
Despite this life‑altering event, Sydne Rome persevered. She took roles in Italian television and film, including appearing in 53 episodes of Don Matteo (2021–2022) and starring in the 2023 film La Quattordicesima Domenica Del Tempo Ordinario.
Although she never became a mainstream Hollywood icon like Bardot or Monroe, Sydne carved her own unique path, crossing continents, exploring multiple artistic ventures, embracing motherhood, and demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.
