Claudia Cardinale
Acting
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.
Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens
as Self (archive footage)
Age 81 (now 87)
Claudia Cardinale, la créature du secret
as Self (archive footage)
Age 81 (now 87)
Gina, Sophia, Claudia, trois symboles de la féminité à l'italienne
as Self
Age 80 (now 87)
Sergio Leone, une Amérique de légende
as Self (archive footage)
Age 80 (now 87)
La Loi de Julien, Le bon fils
as Irène Delamarche
Age 79 (now 87)An Italian Indian: The Pink Panther Princess With Claudia Cardinale
as Self
Age 79 (now 87)
La Folle Histoire de Jean-Paul Belmondo
as Self
Age 78 (now 87)
Luchino Visconti: Between Truth and Passion
as Self (archive footage)
Age 78 (now 87)
Monicelli: La versione di Mario
as Self (archive footage)
Age 73 (now 87)
Becoming Italian with Signora Enrica
as Signora Enrica
Age 72 (now 87)
Pietro Germi - The Good, The Beautiful and The Bad
as Self
Age 71 (now 87)
Cherche fiancé tous frais payés
as Elisabeth
Age 69 (now 87)
Sergio Leone: The Way I See Things
as Self
Age 67 (now 87)
A Dying Breed: The Making of 'The Leopard'
as Self
Age 66 (now 87)
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
as Claudia (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 64 (now 87)
And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
as Madame Falconetti
Age 64 (now 87)
Visconti: La verdad del melodrama
as Self
Age 62 (now 87)
The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth
as Self
Age 59 (now 87)
Il gattopardo: Viaggio della memoria
as Self
Age 55 (now 87)
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
as Francesca Modigliani
Age 40 (now 87)
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
as Pauline Bonaparte
Age 38 (now 87)
The Adventures of Gerard
as Teresa, Countess of Morales
Age 32 (now 87)
Diary of a Telephone Operator
as Marta Chiaretti
Age 31 (now 87)
Il bello delle donne... alcuni anni dopo
as Laura Banti
Age 78 (now 87)
The King, the Squirrel and the Grass Snake
as La duchesse de Polignac
Age 72 (now 87)
Ulisse - The Pleasure of Discovery
as Self
Age 62 (now 87)
Flash – Der Fotoreporter
as Gilda Ricci / Monica Ricci
Age 55 (now 87)
The French Revolution
as Yolande-Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac (« Les Années Lumière »)
Age 51 (now 87)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
Age 24 (now 87)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale, Claude Cardinale
IMDB
nm0001012