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.
Once Upon a Time in the West
as Jill
8½
as Claudia
The Pink Panther
as The Princess Dala
The Leopard
as Angelica Sedara / Bastiana
The Professionals
as Maria
Rocco and His Brothers
as Ginetta
Fitzcarraldo
as Molly
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self
The Queens
as Armenia ("Fata Armenia")
Escape to Athena
as Eleana
Time of Indifference
as Carla
The French Revolution
as Duchesse de Polignac
Effie Gray
as Viscountess
Rogue City
as Catarina Bastiani
Cartouche
as Vénus
Son of the Pink Panther
as Maria Gambrelli
Big Deal on Madonna Street
as Carmelina
All Roads Lead to Rome
as Carmen
The Lovemakers
as Bianca
The Pariah
as Georgia Saratov
The Red Tent
as Valeria
Famous T & A
as (archive footage)
The Legend of Frenchie King
as Marie Sarrazin
Bankers Also Have Souls
as Antonella Dufour
Lost Command
as Aisha
The Battle of Austerlitz
as Pauline Bonaparte
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
as Francesca Modigliani
Conversation Piece
as Professor's Wife (uncredited)
The Skin
as Principessa Consuelo Caracciolo
My Best Fiend
as Self
Upstairs and Downstairs
as Maria
The Salamander
as Elena Leporello
Corleone
as Rosa Accordino
We Are Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
Blindfold
as Vicky Vicenti
Burden of Dreams
as Self - Actress
The Magnificent Cuckold
as Maria Grazia
Girl with a Suitcase
as Aida Zepponi
Circus World
as Toni Alfredo
The Artist and the Model
as Léa
Heart of the Festival
as Self (archive footage)
Sandra
as Sandra Dawson
Belmondo, itinéraire...
as Self
The Day of the Owl
as Rosa Nicolosi
Blood Brothers
as Lucia Esposito
Morceaux de Cannes
Il bell'Antonio
as Barbara Puglisi
Don't Make Waves
as Laura
Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone
as Self
An Opera of Violence
as Self - Actress
Mother
as Araxi (Mayrig) Zakarian
Drums of Fire
as Roxelane
A Man in Love
as Julia Steiner
Fiasco in Milan
as Carmelina Nicosia
The Dolphins
as Fedora Santini
Belmondo by Belmondo
as Self (archive footage)
A Fine Pair
as Esmeralda Marini
Auguste
as Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
Popsy Pop
as Popsy Pop
The Facts of Murder
as La servetta, Assuntina
The Adventures of Gerard
as Teresa, Countess of Morales
Midnight Pleasures
as Gabriella Sansoni
The Magic of Fellini
as Self (archive footage)
Diary of a Telephone Operator
as Marta Chiaretti
Libera, My Love
as Libera Valente
Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre
as Hélène Larmier
The Silent Mountain
as Nuria Calzolari
And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
as Madame Falconetti
La Traversée du désir
as Self
Sergio Leone: The Way I See Things
as Self
I Am the Law
as Anna
Fellinopolis
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
The Hell with Heroes
as Elena
Bebo's Girl
as Mara
Careless
as Angiolina Zarri
A Summer in La Goulette
as Self
South Wind
as Grazia Macri
A View of Love
as La mère de Marc
A Rose for Everyone
as Rosa
Luchino Visconti: Between Truth and Passion
as Self (archive footage)
The Magistrate
as Maria
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
as Pauline Bonaparte
Monicelli: La versione di Mario
as Self (archive footage)
Les Anneaux d'Or
as A young woman
The String
as Sara
Goha
as Amina
Pietro Germi - The Good, The Beautiful and The Bad
as Self
The Wages of Sin
as Self - Actress
Elles ne pensent qu'à ça...
as Margaux
A Common Sense of Modesty
as Armida Ballarin
Something to Do with Death
as Self - Actress
Hollywood Invasion
as Self (archive footage)
Goodbye & Amen
as Aliki
Blonde in Black Leather
as Claudia
3 Strangers in Rome
as Marisa
The Years of Lost Images
as Self
Becoming Italian with Signora Enrica
as Signora Enrica
Fire's Share
as Catherine Hansen
Venetian Honeymoon
as Angelica
The Ruffian
as La « Baronne »
The Conspirators
as Giuditta Di Castro
The Life of Mirrors
Woman of Wonders
as Maura
Henry IV
as Matilda
Por un puñado de sueños
as Self - Interviewee
A Girl in Australia
as Carmela
Sergio Leone, une Amérique de légende
as Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi
as Costanza d'Altavilla / d'Aragona
La Loi de Julien, Le bon fils
as Irène Delamarche
Hollywood sul Tevere
The Bardot mystery
Joy de V.
as Signora Morosini
The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth
as Self
Luchino Visconti
as Self
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
as Claudia (archive footage) (uncredited)
588 rue Paradis
as Araxi (Mayrig) Zakarian
Claretta
as Miriam Petacci
The Lions Are Loose
as Albertine Ferran
Piccolina bella
Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens
as Self (archive footage)
Il falso bugiardo
as Self (archive footage)
The Gun
as Marta Compagna
Marcello, una vita dolce
as Self
The Blind and the Cardinal
as 'La Cardinale'
Act of Sorrow
as Elena
Nobili bugie
as Duchess
Second to Nun
as Self - Festival Actress
The Audience
as Aiche
Claudia Cardinale, la créature du secret
as Self (archive footage)
Alberto il grande
as Self
Gebo and the Shadow
as Doroteia
Cherche fiancé tous frais payés
as Elisabeth
Sous les pieds des femmes
as Aya 1996
Desert of Fire
as Leila
Next Summer
as Jeanne
One Russian Summer
as Anya
The Last Sequence
as Self
Marcello Mastroianni, latin lover
as Self
The Island of Forgiveness
as Agostina
Li chiamarono... briganti!
as Donna Assunta
The Demon Stirs
as Claudia Cardinale
Rudy Valentino
as Zia Rosa
Man & Wife, Cop & Crook
as Cécile Deschamps
Claudia la mystérieuse
as Self
Il gattopardo: Viaggio della memoria
as Self
Twice Upon a Time in the West
as Claudia
Visconti: La verdad del melodrama
as Self
A Dying Breed: The Making of 'The Leopard'
as Self
Algeria in Flames
as Self - Arab woman (uncredited)
Nonnas on the Run
as Angela
Gina, Sophia, Claudia, trois symboles de la féminité à l'italienne
as Self
Cinéma Jacques Perrin
as Self
Father
as Elvira
Last Stop
as Rosa
Riches, belles, etc.
as Baroness Mitsy
Dios de monoambiente
as Self (archive footage)
An Italian Indian: The Pink Panther Princess With Claudia Cardinale
as Self
Il giorno della Shoah
as Ester
Alex et Marie
as Narrator (voice)
La Folle Histoire de Jean-Paul Belmondo
as Self
Una gita a Roma
as Marguerite
Si salvi chi vuole
as Luisa