The enigmatic Claudia Cardinale, whose career spanned more than six decades, lit up the screen with her compelling presence.
With no plans to become one of the greatest actors of the golden age, Cardinale followed a path to fame that was often paved with trauma.
Having outlived the now deceased Hollywood giants she once played on screen and still living at 86, she says, ‘Cinema saved my life.’
Keep reading to learn more about this star and what she does today!
Standing out from the crowd
As an iconic actress, Claudia Cardinale has left an indelible mark on Italian and international cinema. Her talent, beauty and versatility have allowed her to portray a wide range of complex and memorable characters throughout her career.
The Italian actress of Tunisian descent was studying to become a teacher when she was 18 when she was discovered. The glossy-haired French-speaking girl made it to an Italian film festival, where she was snatched from the crowd and named Tunisia’s most beautiful Italian girl.
Claudia Cardinale, 1963. (Getty Images).
‘I was helping my mother and people from the Italian government organise an Italian film festival in Tunisia. I was looking at the girls on stage and I wasn’t supposed to be there. Someone pushed me on stage and I was named the most beautiful girl in Tunisia,’ she said.
The prize was a trip to the Venice Film Festival, which foreshadowed an adventure for the girl, who received numerous offers from producers.
Initially turning down the offers, Cardinale explained in an interview, ‘It’s like a man. When he pursues you, if you say yes right away, after a while he leaves. If you say ‘no’, he pursues you for a long time.’
The reason she turned down most of the offers was because she was pregnant.
But there was one producer she couldn’t say no to. Franco Cristaldi, a prominent Italian producer with feature films from the 1950s to the 1990s, took an interest in the young Cardinale and signed her to an 18-year contract.
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A personal contract was also concluded: the couple married, and Cristaldi, turning her into the Italian Brigitte Bardot, took control, dictating her film roles, hairstyles, weight and social life.
Her pregnancy, at Cristaldi’s request, was kept secret.
As for her son, it was announced that he was her younger brother.
Under Cristaldi’s direction, Cardinale had several minor roles in Italian films and, noticed for her performances, she was dubbed ‘Italy’s sweetheart’.
In 1958, the lead role in the romantic comedy Three Strangers in Rome came to her. Working in her seventh month of pregnancy, which she continued to keep secret at the behest of Cristaldi, Cardinale became depressed and began to contemplate suicide, begging her manager to terminate her contract.
Instead, Cristaldi sent her to London, away from the press, falsely saying she was learning English for the role.
In 1975, her child Patrick was born, whose father, she said, was an unknown man who raped her. That Patrick was her son was kept secret until he was 19 years old.
The brutal truth
In 2017, Cardinale opened up to Italian journalist Enzo Biaggi and shared the brutal truth about her pregnancy: ‘A man I didn’t know, much older than me, forced me up into a car and raped me. It was horrible, but the beautiful thing is that my wonderful Patrick was born as a result of that abuse.’ Although it was a very difficult situation for a single mum, I decided not to have an abortion.’
She continued: ‘When that man found out I was pregnant, he came back and demanded I have an abortion. I didn’t think for a second about getting rid of my creation!’
Speaking about Cristaldi, who controlled her life, Cardinale said: ‘With him I was practically an employee, a subordinate who was paid a month for the four films I made a year: I didn’t even call him by his first name, only by his surname. I felt like a hostage, my father and mother were furious… Because I wasn’t in love, he was the one with me’. In short, Cristaldi was definitely a great producer, but on a personal level… it’s better to overlook it.’
An unhappy relationship with Cristaldi, from whom she split in 1975, did not slow her career down.
The natural beauty, who made her debut in the French-Tunisian film ‘Goha’ with Omar Sharif, quickly gained a reputation as one of Italy’s finest actors.
She then had starring roles in Rocco and His Brothers (1960), and in 1963 she appeared in the Oscar-winning film 8½ with Marcello Mastroianni and The Leopard with Burt Lancaster. Both films, where she played a seemingly unattainable object of desire, were named by director Martin Scorsese as two of his 12 favourites.
Italy’s Brigitte Bardot
Gaining popularity in Hollywood, she starred alongside David Nivens in The Pink Panther before sharing the screen with legends such as John Wayne and Rita Hayworth in the 1964 film Circus World.
Cardinale won acclaim for her role as a prostitute in the American-Italian film Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), where she co-starred with icons such as Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Charles Bronson.
But what audiences enjoyed most was seeing Cardinale, dubbed the Italian Brigitte Bardot, with the real Bardot – her friend and rival – in the 1971 film The Legend of Frenchie King. What made her different from Bardot? According to her, she never starred nude in films, ‘I always thought it was more erotic to leave room for the imagination by hinting at something rather than showing everything.’
Working in Hollywood was both successful and stressful. In an article published in Life magazine, where she was called ‘the most admired international film star since Sophia Loren,’ Cardinale revealed that she wanted to break free from the patriarchal Hollywood system. Speaking about lower salaries in Europe, Cardinale said: ‘If I have to give up money, I will give it up. I don’t want to become a cliché.’
Time is unstoppable
Although her career has slowed down, Cardinale says she’s happy to step away from the sexual attention.
‘When I was young, my dream was to explore the world. And I did. I’ve never been naked or done anything to change my face. I don’t like that at all. I like being who I am because you can’t stop time,’ Cardinale said.
She once shared in an interview, ‘I’ve never done – what are you saying? – Put my face up. Things like that. My mum used to say: ‘Wait until you’re older and you’re always smiling.’ It’s true. So why hide it?’
Cardinale married Italian film director Pasquale Squitieri in 1975 and was with him until his death in 2017. The couple has a daughter, Claudia.
In 2022, Cardinale reacted to rumours that she had been forcibly hospitalised. Living in France, she said: ‘I am with my family, I am in perfect health. And I wish everyone a happy summer.’
Today, Cardinale is actively working with UNESCO as a Goodwill Ambassador for Women’s Rights.
Claudia Cardinale has had quite a busy life, full of traumas and successes. It’s nice to see her inspire other women with her story and we hope she continues to be in good health. What is your favourite film with Cardinale?
