Claude Cardinale
Acting
Born: April 15, 1938 · La Goulette, Protectorat français de Tunisie
Died: September 23, 2025 (aged 87)
Highest Rated
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.
Known for
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968
8½
1963
The Pink Panther
1963
The Leopard
1963
Fitzcarraldo
1982
Big Deal on Madonna Street
1958
Rocco and His Brothers
1960
Rogue City
2020
Jesus of Nazareth
1977
The Professionals
1966
All Roads Lead to Rome
2016
Son of the Pink Panther
1993
Photos (14)
Movies (116)
Once Upon a Time in the West
Jill
The Pink Panther
The Princess Dala
8½
Claudia
The Leopard
Angelica Sedara / Bastiana
The Queens
Armenia ("Fata Armenia")
The Professionals
Maria
Rocco and His Brothers
Ginetta
All Roads Lead to Rome
Carmen
Fitzcarraldo
Molly
Rogue City
Catarina Bastiani
Son of the Pink Panther
Maria Gambrelli
The Skin
Principessa Consuelo Caracciolo
The French Revolution
Duchesse de Polignac
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Carmelina
Effie Gray
Viscountess
A Summer in La Goulette
Claudia Cardinale
Careless
Angiolina Zarri
Escape to Athena
Eleana
Austerlitz
Pauline Bonaparte
Girl with a Suitcase
Aida Zepponi
Cherche fiancé tous frais payés
Elisabeth
Claretta
Miriam Petacci
Il bell'Antonio
Barbara Puglisi
The Red Tent
Valeria
The Salamander
Elena Leporello
Lost Command
Aisha
Father
Elvira
Popsy Pop
Popsy Pop
Cartouche
Vénus
Twice Upon a Time in the West
Claudia
The Artist and the Model
Léa
The Legend of Frenchie King
Marie Sarrazin
Morceaux de Cannes
2021
Mother
Araxi (Mayrig) Zakarian
The Day of the Owl
Rosa Nicolosi
The Pariah
Georgia Saratov
A View of Love
La mère de Marc
Bankers Also Have Souls
Antonella Dufour
Circus World
Toni Alfredo
Time of Indifference
Carla
Goha
Amina
Don't Make Waves
Laura
Conversation Piece
Professor's Wife (uncredited)
A Man in Love
Julia Steiner
Blindfold
Vicky Vicenti
The Magnificent Cuckold
Maria Grazia
Sandra
Sandra Dawson
Famous T & A
(archive footage)
The Facts of Murder
La servetta, Assuntina
I Am the Law
Anna
Next Summer
Jeanne
Auguste
Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
The Silent Mountain
Nuria Calzolari
The Conspirators
Giuditta Di Castro
588 rue Paradis
Araxi (Mayrig) Zakarian
And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
Madame Falconetti
The Hell with Heroes
Elena
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
Claudia (archive footage) (uncredited)
Stupor Mundi
Costanza d'Altavilla / d'Aragona
Hollywood sul Tevere
2009
Fiasco in Milan
Carmelina Nicosia
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
Francesca Modigliani
The Ruffian
La « Baronne »
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
Pauline Bonaparte
Desert of Fire
Leila
Blood Brothers
Lucia Esposito
Upstairs and Downstairs
Maria
The Audience
Aiche
The Lovemakers
Bianca
Diary of a Telephone Operator
Marta Chiaretti
A Fine Pair
Esmeralda Marini
The Life of Mirrors
2025
The Adventures of Gerard
Teresa, Countess of Morales
The Bardot mystery
2012
The Gun
Marta Compagna
Goodbye & Amen
Aliki
Li chiamarono... briganti!
Donna Assunta
Midnight Pleasures
Gabriella Sansoni
Nonnas on the Run
Angela
Gebo and the Shadow
Doroteia
Drums of Fire
Roxelane
A Common Sense of Modesty
Armida Ballarin
Man & Wife, Cop & Crook
Cécile Deschamps
Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre
Hélène Larmier
Corleone
Rosa Accordino
A Girl in Australia
Carmela
The Demon Stirs
Claudia Cardinale
Blonde in Black Leather
Claudia
The Lions Are Loose
Albertine Ferran
The Magistrate
Maria
Act of Sorrow
Elena
The Dolphins
Fedora Santini
A Rose for Everyone
Rosa
Bebo's Girl
Mara
Venetian Honeymoon
Angelica
Sous les pieds des femmes
Aya 1996
Fire's Share
Catherine Hansen
La Loi de Julien, Le bon fils
Irène Delamarche
Last Stop
Rosa
One Russian Summer
Anya
Libera, My Love
Libera Valente
Woman of Wonders
Maura
The String
Sara
South Wind
Grazia Macri
3 Strangers in Rome
Marisa
Les Anneaux d'Or
A young woman
Henry IV
Matilda
Rudy Valentino
Zia Rosa
Nobili bugie
Duchess
The Blind and the Cardinal
'La Cardinale'
Becoming Italian with Signora Enrica
Signora Enrica
Riches, belles, etc.
Baroness Mitsy
The Island of Forgiveness
Agostina
Una gita a Roma
Marguerite
Elles ne pensent qu'à ça...
Margaux
Si salvi chi vuole
Luisa
TV Shows (11)
Jesus of Nazareth
The Adulteress · 4 eps
The French Revolution
Yolande-Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac (« Les Années Lumière ») · 2 eps
Princess Daisy
Annabelle de Fourdemont Valensky · 2 eps
The King, the Squirrel and the Grass Snake
La duchesse de Polignac · 1 eps
History
Ida Mancuso · 3 eps
Nostromo
Teresa Viola · 3 eps
Desert of Fire
Leila · 3 eps
Il bello delle donne... alcuni anni dopo
Laura Banti · 8 eps
Bulle
Marthe · 6 eps
Naso di cane
Laura · 3 eps
Mia, Liebe meines Lebens
Mary O'Sullivan · 4 eps
Self / Appearances (55)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
Ciné regards
Self · 1 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 1 eps
Sacrée soirée
Self · 4 eps
Spécial cinéma
Self · 1 eps
Vivement dimanche
Self · 5 eps
The Oscars
Self · 1 eps
Midi Première
Self · 1 eps
Champs-Elysées
Self · 3 eps
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 2 eps
Bambi
Self · 1 eps
Numéro un
Self · 1 eps
Numéro un
Self - Host · 1 eps
Midi trente
Self · 1 eps
Ulisse - The Pleasure of Discovery
Self · 1 eps
Cinépanorama
Self · 1 eps
Stars 90
Self · 1 eps
Téléthon
Self · 2 eps
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Self · 1 eps
Reflets de Cannes
Self · 2 eps
Heart of the Festival
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Invasion
Self (archive footage)
Belmondo, itinéraire...
Self
My Best Fiend
Self
Fellinopolis
Self - Actress (archive footage)
Burden of Dreams
Self - Actress
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
We Are Cinema
Self (archive footage)
La Traversée du désir
Self
Belmondo by Belmondo
Self (archive footage)
Marcello, una vita dolce
Self
Sergio Leone: The Way I See Things
Self
Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone
Self
Claudia Cardinale, la créature du secret
Self (archive footage)
Pietro Germi - The Good, The Beautiful and The Bad
Self
Alberto il grande
Self
An Opera of Violence
Self - Actress
Monicelli: La versione di Mario
Self (archive footage)
The Magic of Fellini
Self (archive footage)
A Dying Breed: The Making of 'The Leopard'
Self
Luchino Visconti: Between Truth and Passion
Self (archive footage)
Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens
Self (archive footage)
Il falso bugiardo
Self (archive footage)
The Wages of Sin
Self - Actress
Claudia la mystérieuse
Self
The Last Sequence
Self
Something to Do with Death
Self - Actress
The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth
Self
Luchino Visconti
Self
The Years of Lost Images
Self
Sergio Leone, une Amérique de légende
Self (archive footage)
Gina, Sophia, Claudia, trois symboles de la féminité à l'italienne
Self
La Folle Histoire de Jean-Paul Belmondo
Self
Algeria in Flames
Self - Arab woman (uncredited)
Por un puñado de sueños
Self - Interviewee
