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Claudia Cardinale, the legendary Italian actress celebrated for her roles in The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West, and 8½, has died at the age of 87.
Cardinale passed away Tuesday in Nemours, near Paris, her agent Laurent Savry confirmed to Agence France-Presse. "She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman, both as an individual and as an artist," Savry said in a statement.
Born in Tunis, Tunisia, on April 15, 1938, Cardinale's rise to fame was unexpected. At 16, she won a local beauty contest, which earned her a trip to the Venice Film Festival. There, Italian producers discovered her, leading to a seven-year contract with Franco Cristaldi's production company, Vides. Cardinale later revealed she accepted the deal to support herself and her child after being raped at a young age. "I didn't want to become an actress; I did it so I could be independent," she told Variety in 2017.
Her film debut came with the 1958 Italian heist movie Big Deal on Madonna Street. By the 1960s, Cardinale was an international star, appearing in acclaimed films such as The Leopard, Federico Fellini's 8½, and Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther, where she starred opposite Peter Sellers. Her role as Jill McBain in Sergio Leone's 1968 epic Once Upon a Time in the West cemented her status as a global icon.
In a 2017 interview, Cardinale recalled filming The Leopard and 8½ simultaneously. "Luchino [Visconti] wanted me dark-haired and Federico [Fellini] wanted me blonde, so I changed hair color every two weeks," she said. "It was a magic moment for me."
Cardinale continued to work for decades, later appearing in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo (1982) and even reprising her role in 1993's Son of the Pink Panther. Her final film was the 2022 drama The Island of Forgiveness.
Her achievements earned her top honors, including lifetime achievement awards at the Venice and Berlin film festivals and France's prestigious Legion d'Honneur. A passionate advocate for women's rights, she was appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador in 2000.
Cardinale is survived by her two children, Patrick Cristaldi and author Claudia Squitieri.
