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    Mourning Claudia Cardinale

    Legendary Italian Actress Passes Away at the Age of 87

     

    Claudia Cardinale (picture: Creative Commons)

    When young Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale entered a beauty contest in 1957 and consequently won a trip to the Venice Film Festival, little did she know that this was going to change her life. She came back as Claudia Cardinale and embarked on an acting career that turned her into an international star.

    As one of Italy’s most outstanding and beloved actresses, she performed in such unforgettable classics as THE LEOPARD (1963) by Luchino Visconti with Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon, as the beautiful widow Jill McBain in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968) by Sergio Leone with Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, in 8 ½ by Federico Fellini with Marcello Mastroianni and Anouk Aimée and as Molly in FITZCARRALDO by Werner Herzog – to name but a few.

    Claudia Cardinale acted in well over 120 films. For her impressive work she was repeatedly honoured, among these awards are a Career Golden Lion in Venice, a Special Career David di Donatello, an Honorary Golden Berlin Bear and a Leopard Career Award in Locarno.

    She used her fame to stand up for her beliefs, advocating women’s rights and became a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for the Defence of Women’s Rights in the year 2000.

    Claudia Cardinale died on 23 September 2025.

    We will miss her.