Cast

Claudia Cardinale

Acting

Cast

Claudia Cardinale

Known for

Acting

Born

1938-04-15

From

La Goulette, Protectorat français de Tunisie

Died

2025-09-23

Also known as Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale, Claude Cardinale

Biography

Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (15 April 1938 – 23 September 2025) was an Italian actress. Regarded as one of the leading figures of Italian cinema, alongside Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, she achieved international recognition during a career spanning more than six decades. Celebrated in the 1960s as "the most beautiful woman in the world" and widely considered a sex symbol of the era, Cardinale appeared in more than 175 films, primarily in Italy and France, across genres including comedy, drama, spaghetti westerns, and historical epics. She collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, and Werner Herzog, and several of her films are regarded as significant works in the history of cinema. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of European cinema. Born and raised in La Goulette, a municipality in Tunisia near Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition in 1957, the prize being a trip to Italy, which quickly led to film contracts, due above all to the involvement of producer Franco Cristaldi, who acted as her mentor for a number of years and later married her. After making her debut in a minor role with Egyptian star Omar Sharif in Goha (1958), Cardinale became one of the best-known actresses in Italy, with roles in films such as Rocco and His Brothers (1960), Girl with a Suitcase (1961), Cartouche (1962), The Leopard (1963) and Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963). From 1963, Cardinale appeared in The Pink Panther opposite David Niven. She went on to appear in the Hollywood films Blindfold (1966), Lost Command (1966), The Professionals (1966), Don't Make Waves (1967) with Tony Curtis, The Hell with Heroes (1968), The Red Tent (1969), A Fine Pair (1968), The Salamander (1981), and the Sergio Leone Western Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), a joint U.S.–Italian production, in which she was praised for her role as a former prostitute opposite Jason Robards, Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda. Jaded with Hollywood and not wanting to become a cliché, Cardinale returned to Italian and French cinema and garnered the David di Donatello for Best Actress award for her roles in The Day of the Owl (1968) and as a prostitute alongside Alberto Sordi in A Girl in Australia (1971).[1] In 1974, Cardinale met director Pasquale Squitieri, who would become her partner. She frequently featured in his films, including Blood Brothers (1974), Father of the Godfathers (1978) and Claretta (1984), the last of which won her the Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Actress. In 1982, she starred in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo as the love interest of Klaus Kinski, who raises the funds to buy a steamship in Peru. In 2010, Cardinale received the Best Actress Award at the 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival for her performance as an elderly Italian woman who takes in a young Turkish exchange student in Signora Enrica. Over the years, Cardinale was outspoken about women's rights and became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for the Defence of Women's Rights beginning in March 2000. In February 2011, the Los Angeles Times Magazine named Cardinale among the 50 most beautiful women in film history. ... Description above from the Wikipedia article Claudia Cardinale, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Claudia Cardinale

Claudia Cardinale

Biography

Once Upon a Time in the West

The Pink Panther

8½

The Leopard

Effie Gray

The Professionals

Mother

Fitzcarraldo

Rocco and His Brothers

The Day of the Owl

Twice Upon a Time in the West

The French Revolution

Son of the Pink Panther

Hollywood Invasion

Belmondo, itinéraire...

The Gun

Time of Indifference

Big Deal on Madonna Street

The Legend of Frenchie King

Goha

Austerlitz

Cherche fiancé tous frais payés

Escape to Athena

La Traversée du désir

Belmondo by Belmondo

Lost Command

My Best Fiend

Heart of the Festival

Rogue City

All Roads Lead to Rome

Girl with a Suitcase

Father

The Red Tent

Stupor Mundi

Joy de V.

Sandra

Night of 100 Stars II

Careless

The Artist and the Model

Claretta

Fellinopolis

A View of Love

Il bell'Antonio

The Skin

Conversation Piece

Circus World

Bankers Also Have Souls

Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre

Man & Wife, Cop & Crook

A Man in Love

The Salamander

Popsy Pop

Morceaux de Cannes

The Pariah

588 rue Paradis

Hollywood sul Tevere

A Girl in Australia

The Hell with Heroes

Li chiamarono... briganti!

Gebo and the Shadow

Cartouche

Little Girl in Blue Velvet

Don't Make Waves

Last Stop

A Fine Pair

A Summer in La Goulette

The Life of Mirrors

Next Summer

The Silent Mountain

Les Anneaux d'Or

Cinéma Jacques Perrin

One Russian Summer

The Magnificent Cuckold

Piccolina bella

Auguste

The Audience

Fiasco in Milan