One of the most attractive and talented film actresses ever, Claudia Cardinale has made a name for herself as both a sexpot from the Swinging '60s and a talented, accomplished character actress. Certainly she is several cuts above the average Hollywood actress.
She was born in Tunis, Tunisia, to Italian parents on April 15, 1938. At that time Tunisia was engulfed in bloody political upheaval; however, the Cardinales remained in Tunisia for twenty years.
Cardinale had a number of bit roles in several French films in the mid to late '50s, but it was not
… More until she won the Most Beautiful Italian Girl In Tunis Award of 1957 that she became a major player. Though initially reluctant (she always wanted to be a school teacher), Cardinale eventually signed a contract and entered the Centro Sperimentale, an extremely renowned film school in Rome.
Her first large role was in "Big Deal on Madonna Street", but she began appearing in a growing number of French films, aided by producer Franco Cristaldi, who later married her. Cardinale managed to avoid a potential scandal in 1959 when she gave birth to a child out of wedlock by saying he was her brother.
Cardinale gained international acclaim for her roles in Luchiano Visconti's classics "Rocco and His Brothers" and "The Leopard", along with Federico Fellini's immortal "8 1/2". Shortly thereafter, she took to the road and tried her luck in Hollywood.
Whether fortunate for her or not, Cardinale, in spite of her legendary beauty, did not become the "next big thing" after Sophia Loren and company - most likely because she never mastered the English language. Though she appeared in the comedy classic (and box-office hit) "The Pink Panther", she appeared in a series of relative flops ("Circus World", "The Professionals") and within a few years was out of Hollywood for good.
By 1968, Cardinale, though still young, was growing too old to remain a viable sex symbol for much longer. Thus she began taking on character roles, starting with her role as the put-upon prostitute Jill McBain in Sergio Leone's masterpiece "Once Upon A Time In The West". As the '70s grew on, she remained quite active, appearing in such films as "The Red Tent", "Popsy Pop", "The Immortal Bachelor", and "Escape to Athena". In 1974 she divorced her husband Cristaldi and married film director Pasquale Squittieri, having her second child with him. She appeared in several of his films, notably "Corleone" and "The Gun". During this time period she also worked on Werner Herzog's infamous "Fitzcarraldo", playing Klaus Kinski's girlfriend.
Up until the mid-'90s Cardinale still appeared in a number of films, and often appeared at the US Academy Awards. In 2002 she won the German Gold Bear Award for lifetime achievement. She is also a goodwill ambassador.
