Italian screen legend Claudia Cardinale has died at the age of 87 in Nemours, France, her agent said on Tuesday.
Cardinale was surrounded by her family at the time of her death, according to her agent.
The famous star starred in some of the most celebrated films of the 1960s and 1970s, entrancing audiences across the globe with the sultry gaze that made her the muse of filmmakers.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called her “one of the greatest Italian actresses of all time,” and the embodiment of “Italian grace.”
An icon of Italian cinema
Born in Tunis in 1938 to Sicilian parents, Cardinale grew up speaking French, Arabic and Sicilian, once describing her childhood in the North African country as a “golden age” filled with “magical moments.”
Cardinale’s career began at the age of 17 after winning a beauty contest that crowned her “the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis.”
This was her ticket to the Venice Film Festival, and led to her appearing in more than 100 films over five decades.
“The fact I’m making movies is just an accident,” she said in 2002. “When they asked me ‘do you want to be in the movies?’ I said no and they insisted for six months.”
She is best known for her work in Federico Fellini’s “8½,” Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard” and Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West.”
She worked with leading directors across Europe and Hollywood, and starred alongside actors including Marcello Mastroianni, Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Henry Fonda. She also earned critical acclaim for her theater performances.
Her accolades include the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
An advocate of women’s rights
Cardinale was often described as one of Italy’s three great post-war icons, alongside Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida.
She received lifetime achievement awards from both the Venice and Berlin film festivals and was named a UNESCO goodwill ambassador in 2000 for her advocacy on women’s rights.
As a UNESCO ambassador and supporter of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, she campaigned for freedom, independence and female self-determination, speaking of her own rape at the beginning of her career.
Reflecting on how cinema had shaped her life, she said she was grateful.
“They gave me everything,” Cardinale had said. “It’s marvelous to live so many lives.”
Edited by Sean Sinico
