Outliving the now-deceased Hollywood giants with whom she once shared the screen, and still going strong at 86, she claims “cinema saved my life.”
As an iconic actress, Claudia Cardinale has left an indelible mark on Italian and international film. Her talent, beauty, and versatility allowed her to portray a wide range of complex and memorable characters throughout her career.
When she was found at the age of 18, the Tunisian-born Italian actress was pursuing a teaching career. The glossy-haired, French-speaking young woman was swept away by the pomp of an Italian film festival, where she was chosen from the throng and awarded Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia.
“I was assisting my mother and Italian government officials plan an Italian film festival in Tunisia. I was looking at the females on stage, but I wasn’t allowed to be there. “Someone pushed me out on stage, and I was named the Most Beautiful Girl in Tunisia,” she explained.
The prize was a trip to the Venice film festival, which promised an exciting excursion for the young woman, who had gotten numerous offers from producers.
‘Italian Brigitte Bardot’
She rose to prominence in Hollywood, starring alongside David Nivens in The Pink Panther and later alongside giants such as John Wayne and Rita Hayworth in 1964’s Circus World.
Cardinale was praised for her performance as a prostitute in the 1968 American-Italian film Once Upon a Time in the West, in which she costarred with legends Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, and Charles Bronson.
However, viewers appreciated watching Cardinale, often known as the Italian Brigitte Bardot, in 1971’s The Legend of Frenchie King alongside the actual Bardot, her friend and adversary. What distinguishes her from Bardot? She stated that she has never appeared naked in a film, “I always thought it was more erotic to leave some room for imagination, hinting at things rather than showing everything.”.
‘You cannot stop time.’
Despite the fact that her career has slowed, Cardinale says she is relieved to be out of the sexualized spotlight.
