She has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Women's Rights since 1999
Copyright Credit: ArchivoCameraphoto Epoche/Cannes Film Festival
By Rita Konya
Published on 24/09/2025
EURONEWS
The acclaimed Italian actress, Claudia Cardinale, famous for her roles in The Leopard and 8½, has died at the age of 87.
Her agent Laurent Savry told French news agency AFP that she passed away on Tuesday at her home in Nemours in France, surrounded by her children.
Cardinale starred in more than 100 films and made-for-television productions, but was best known for her role in Federico Fellini’s 8½, in which she co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni in 1963.
She also won praise for her role as Angelica Sedara in Luchino Visconti’s award-winning screen adaptation of the historical novel The Leopard, and as a reformed sex worker in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West in 1968.
"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman, both as a woman and as an artist," Savry said, as quoted by Italian media.
Federico Fellini and Claudia Cardinale in Rome, 27 May 1964 AP Photo/Giulio Broglio
She was born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardin in La Goulette in Tunisia, to a Sicilian father and a French mother on 15 April 1938.
At age 17, Cardinale won a beauty contest in 1957, in which she was named the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis. The contest brought her to the Venice Film Festival, which helped launch her movie career.
Before entering the competition, Cardinale had expected to become a school teacher.
The acclaimed Italian actress, Claudia Cardinale, famous for her roles in The Leopard and 8½, has died at the age of 87.
Her agent Laurent Savry told French news agency AFP that she passed away on Tuesday at her home in Nemours in France, surrounded by her children.
Cardinale starred in more than 100 films and made-for-television productions, but was best known for her role in Federico Fellini’s 8½, in which she co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni in 1963.
She also won praise for her role as Angelica Sedara in Luchino Visconti’s award-winning screen adaptation of the historical novel The Leopard, and as a reformed sex worker in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West in 1968.
"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman, both as a woman and as an artist," Savry said, as quoted by Italian media.
Federico Fellini and Claudia Cardinale in Rome, 27 May 1964 AP Photo/Giulio BroglioShe was born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardin in La Goulette in Tunisia, to a Sicilian father and a French mother on 15 April 1938.
At age 17, Cardinale won a beauty contest in 1957, in which she was named the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis. The contest brought her to the Venice Film Festival, which helped launch her movie career.
Before entering the competition, Cardinale had expected to become a school teacher.
Claudia Cardinale at a press conference in Rome, 9 July 1965 AP Photo/Mario Torrisi
Along with Brigitte Bardot, she became an iconic film star of the 1960s European cinema.
Along with Brigitte Bardot, she became an iconic film star of the 1960s European cinema.
Alain Delon with his daughter Anouchka and Claudia Cardinale in Cannes, 14 May 2010 AP Photo/Joel Ryan
In 1962, she starred alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo in Cartouche, and then went on to star in three of the decade's greatest films: Luchino Visconti's The Leopard, Federico Fellini's 8½, and The Pink Panther.
In 1968, she played Jill McBain in Sergio Leone's monumental spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West, and in 1982 she was Klaus Kinski's partner in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo.
In 1962, she starred alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo in Cartouche, and then went on to star in three of the decade's greatest films: Luchino Visconti's The Leopard, Federico Fellini's 8½, and The Pink Panther.
In 1968, she played Jill McBain in Sergio Leone's monumental spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West, and in 1982 she was Klaus Kinski's partner in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo.
Claudia Cardinale as special guest at the Budapest Classic Film Marathon - 6 September 2018. MTI/Illyés Tibor
Cardinale was a liberal with strong political convictions and a major advocate for women's and LGBTQ+ rights.
She has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Women's Rights since 1999 and a Knight of the French Legion of Honour since 2008.
She had two children, one with Cristaldi and a second with her later companion, Italian director Pasquale Squitieri.
Cardinale was a liberal with strong political convictions and a major advocate for women's and LGBTQ+ rights.
She has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Women's Rights since 1999 and a Knight of the French Legion of Honour since 2008.
She had two children, one with Cristaldi and a second with her later companion, Italian director Pasquale Squitieri.
Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale dies aged 87
Paris (AFP) – Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale, who died on Tuesday aged 87, entranced audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini.
Issued on: 23/09/2025 - FRANCE24
Crowned "The most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis", the prize was a trip to the Venice film festival where she immediately turned heads and reluctantly, turned her back on her plans to become a teacher.
"All the directors and producers wanted me to make films, and I said, 'No, I don't want to!' she said.
It was her father who eventually convinced her to "give this cinema thing a go".
As she started to land small film roles, she was raped. A mentor convinced her to secretly give birth in London and entrust the child to her family.
Patrick would officially be her younger brother until she revealed the truth seven years later.
"I was forced to accept this lie to avoid a scandal and protect my career," she said.
'Fairytale'
From then there was no looking back, as she became swept up into the golden age of Italian cinema, even though she knew "not a word" of the language, speaking only French, Arabic and her parents' Sicilian dialect.
At 20 "I became the heroine of a fairytale, the symbol of a country whose language I barely spoke," she wrote in her 2005 autobiography "My Stars."
Her voice had to be dubbed in Italian until she starred in Fellini's Oscar-winning "8 1/2" in 1963, when the star director insisted she use her own voice.
Paris (AFP) – Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale, who died on Tuesday aged 87, entranced audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini.
Issued on: 23/09/2025 - FRANCE24
Her decades-long career has seen her star in 175 films and both the Venice and Berlin festivals awarded her honorary prizes © Frederick M. Brown / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
With her fierce beauty and husky voice, Cardinale not only captivated Italy's greatest filmmakers, she played opposite most of the leading men of the time, from Burt Lancaster to Alain Delon and Henry Fonda.
She died at Nemours near Paris, in the presence of her children, her agent told AFP, adding that the date and place of her burial had not yet been fixed.
"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Laurent Savry said in a message.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called her "one of the greatest Italian actresses of all time" and said Cardinale embodied "Italian grace".
Cardinale's fairytale career began as a nightmare.
She was raped in her teens by a film producer and became pregnant. With few options open at the time, she made the tough decision to bring up her son Patrick and try "to earn a living and her independence" from cinema, even though she never wanted to be in films.
"I did it for him, for Patrick, the child I wanted to keep despite the circumstances and the enormous scandal," she told French daily Le Monde in 2017.
"I was very young, shy, prudish, almost wild. And without the slightest wish to expose myself on the film sets."
Reluctant actress
Born in La Goulette, near Tunis, on 15 April 1938, to Sicilian parents, Cardinale's life had already been turned upside down at at the age of 16 when she was picked out of a crowd to win a beauty contest.
With her fierce beauty and husky voice, Cardinale not only captivated Italy's greatest filmmakers, she played opposite most of the leading men of the time, from Burt Lancaster to Alain Delon and Henry Fonda.
She died at Nemours near Paris, in the presence of her children, her agent told AFP, adding that the date and place of her burial had not yet been fixed.
"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Laurent Savry said in a message.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called her "one of the greatest Italian actresses of all time" and said Cardinale embodied "Italian grace".
Cardinale's fairytale career began as a nightmare.
She was raped in her teens by a film producer and became pregnant. With few options open at the time, she made the tough decision to bring up her son Patrick and try "to earn a living and her independence" from cinema, even though she never wanted to be in films.
"I did it for him, for Patrick, the child I wanted to keep despite the circumstances and the enormous scandal," she told French daily Le Monde in 2017.
"I was very young, shy, prudish, almost wild. And without the slightest wish to expose myself on the film sets."
Reluctant actress
Born in La Goulette, near Tunis, on 15 April 1938, to Sicilian parents, Cardinale's life had already been turned upside down at at the age of 16 when she was picked out of a crowd to win a beauty contest.
Cardinale was born in Tunis to Sicilian parents © - / AFP/File
Crowned "The most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis", the prize was a trip to the Venice film festival where she immediately turned heads and reluctantly, turned her back on her plans to become a teacher.
"All the directors and producers wanted me to make films, and I said, 'No, I don't want to!' she said.
It was her father who eventually convinced her to "give this cinema thing a go".
As she started to land small film roles, she was raped. A mentor convinced her to secretly give birth in London and entrust the child to her family.
Patrick would officially be her younger brother until she revealed the truth seven years later.
"I was forced to accept this lie to avoid a scandal and protect my career," she said.
'Fairytale'
From then there was no looking back, as she became swept up into the golden age of Italian cinema, even though she knew "not a word" of the language, speaking only French, Arabic and her parents' Sicilian dialect.
At 20 "I became the heroine of a fairytale, the symbol of a country whose language I barely spoke," she wrote in her 2005 autobiography "My Stars."
Her voice had to be dubbed in Italian until she starred in Fellini's Oscar-winning "8 1/2" in 1963, when the star director insisted she use her own voice.
Cardinale had a huge hit in Hollywood with 'The Pink Panther' © STF / AFP/File
That year, aged 25, Cardinale filmed both Visconti's epic period drama "The Leopard" and Fellini's surrealist hit "8 1/2" at the same time.
"Visconti wanted me brunette with long hair. Fellini wanted me blonde," she said.
Critics called her the "embodiment of postwar European glamour", and she was was packaged as such, both on screen and off.
"It's almost like she had sexiness thrust upon her," Britain's The Guardian wrote in 2013.
Embraced by Hollywood, where she refused to settle, Cardinale had a huge hit with Blake Edwards' "The Pink Panther" with Peter Sellers, then Henry Hathaway's "Circus World" with Rita Hayworth and John Wayne.
"The best compliment I ever got was from actor David Niven while filming 'The Pink Panther'," Cardinale recalled.
He said: "Claudia, along with spaghetti, you're Italy's greatest invention."
Refusing to have cosmetic surgery, she went on to perform into her 80s, including in "La Strana Coppia", a female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" at the Teatro Augusteo in Naples.
'Only love'
Although desired by many, she said her "only love" was the blue-eye Neapolitan director Pasquale Squitieri, father to her daughter Claudia with whom she worked on a series of films over four decades until his death in 2017.
Her decades-long career has seen her star in 175 films and both the Venice and Berlin festivals awarded her honorary prizes.
That year, aged 25, Cardinale filmed both Visconti's epic period drama "The Leopard" and Fellini's surrealist hit "8 1/2" at the same time.
"Visconti wanted me brunette with long hair. Fellini wanted me blonde," she said.
Critics called her the "embodiment of postwar European glamour", and she was was packaged as such, both on screen and off.
"It's almost like she had sexiness thrust upon her," Britain's The Guardian wrote in 2013.
Embraced by Hollywood, where she refused to settle, Cardinale had a huge hit with Blake Edwards' "The Pink Panther" with Peter Sellers, then Henry Hathaway's "Circus World" with Rita Hayworth and John Wayne.
"The best compliment I ever got was from actor David Niven while filming 'The Pink Panther'," Cardinale recalled.
He said: "Claudia, along with spaghetti, you're Italy's greatest invention."
Refusing to have cosmetic surgery, she went on to perform into her 80s, including in "La Strana Coppia", a female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" at the Teatro Augusteo in Naples.
'Only love'
Although desired by many, she said her "only love" was the blue-eye Neapolitan director Pasquale Squitieri, father to her daughter Claudia with whom she worked on a series of films over four decades until his death in 2017.
Her decades-long career has seen her star in 175 films and both the Venice and Berlin festivals awarded her honorary prizes.
Cardinale and Queen Elizabeth II at a premiere © - / CENTRAL PRESS/AFP/File
In 2017 she featured on the official poster of the Cannes film festival amid an outcry that her thighs had been airbrushed to make the seem thinner.
A staunch defender of women's rights, she was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2000 in recognition of her commitment to the cause of women and girls.
"I've had a of luck. This job has given me a multitude of lives, and the possibility of putting my fame at the service of many causes," she said.
© 2025 AFP
In 2017 she featured on the official poster of the Cannes film festival amid an outcry that her thighs had been airbrushed to make the seem thinner.
A staunch defender of women's rights, she was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2000 in recognition of her commitment to the cause of women and girls.
"I've had a of luck. This job has given me a multitude of lives, and the possibility of putting my fame at the service of many causes," she said.
© 2025 AFP
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