Claudia Cardinale, the Tunisian-born Italian actress who emerged as a prominent figure in European film throughout the 1960s and 70s, has passed away at the age of 87.
Her agent, Laurent Savry, verified that she died at Nemours, France, in the presence of her children.
Throughout a career spanning over 150 films, Cardinale embodied an era of elegance, resilience, and artistic excellence. She was celebrated as “Italy’s girlfriend” and “dream girl” in her country, esteemed not just for her beauty but also for a body of work that significantly influenced postwar European film.
Cardinale’s pivotal moment occurred in 1963 with two defining roles: the mysterious muse in Federico Fellini’s “8½”, with Marcello Mastroianni, and Angelica Sedara in Luchino Visconti’s version of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s “The Leopard”. Five years later, she achieved international acclaim as Jill McBain, the rehabilitated prostitute in Sergio Leone’s operatic western, “Once Upon a Time in the West.”
Born in Tunis in 1938 to Sicilian parents, Cardinale gained public recognition at the age of 17 after winning a beauty contest that led to her appearance at the Venice Film Festival. Film studios in Rome quickly recognized her star potential. By the early 1960s, she had established herself as Italy’s counterpart to Brigitte Bardot, while Sophia Loren was already achieving success in Hollywood.
Despite her appearances in prominent English-language films, Cardinale rejected the temptation to forsake Europe for Hollywood. In 2002, she informed The Guardian, “They requested that I sign an exclusivity contract, which I declined.” “As a European actress, I was traveling there for film projects.”
Her commitment to European film remained steadfast. Cardinale received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 1993, over forty years after her initial appearance at the event. In 2000, she was designated a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, leveraging her prominence to advocate for women’s rights.
