Claudia Cardinale: biography, personal life, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today, Italian and French cinema is not going through its best years, but in the middle of the twentieth century. these countries reigned in the cinema world. Among the most famous actresses of that period in Europe is Claudia Cardinale. This Italian beauty easily drove men from different countries crazy and at the same time knew how to maintain mystery. Let's find out about her biography, personal life, as well as the most famous film works.

The early years of the actress

The future movie star Claudia Cardinale was born on April 15, 1939 (according to other sources, in 1938). Her parents were ordinary people. His father is a descendant of Sicilian merchants, forced to work as a railway worker in Tunisia, and his mother is a housewife from a family of shipbuilders.

Claudia was the eldest among 4 children of the Cardinale family, which is why from a young age she used to take care of her younger brothers and sister Blanche. This required severe discipline, which in the future helped Claudia keep herself in shape andhandle the many pressures of acting.

Because of the Italian origin of the girl at school, many children teased her as a “fascist” (in Italy at that time it was the regime that ruled) and even tried to beat her more than once. However, despite her modesty, young Claudia always found the strength to fight back the offenders.

By the age of 15, the girl turned into a real beauty, on which not only frivolous immature guys stopped their eyes, but adult serious men. At the same time, the future actress did not encourage such an attitude. She dressed strictly, did not use makeup and stopped any attempts to court her. The thing is that after school, the girl dreamed of becoming a teacher and traveling on a charitable mission to abandoned African villages.

At the same time, by nature, Claudia did not at all correspond to such a profession. She had a cheerful disposition and adored watching movies. Her favorite artists were Marlon Brando and Brigitte Bardot. At that time, the girl could not even think that she would have to get to know each of them personally.

Winning a beauty pageant

However, the dreams of a young Italian beauty from Tunisia about a career as a teacher were not destined to come true. Everything changed the case. In 1953, a documentary about this city was being filmed in Tunisia, and Claudia accidentally fell into the field of view of the camera. Her beauty and photogenicity attracted the attention of directors, and the girl was invited to become a fashion model at a fashion show.

Despite the prohibition of her parents, Cardinale agreed, andsoon photos from this show were placed in a well-known fashion publication. Thus, she attracted the attention of director Jacques Baratier. He offered the beauty the main role in the new film, which was filmed in Tunisia.

However, during the audition, the inexperience of young Claudia and her obstinate temper led to the fact that the role went to another.

A couple of years later, in 1957, the competition "The most beautiful Italian woman" was held in Tunisia. But the future actress participated in it only as attendants. To earn extra money, she and her sister dressed up in national costumes and sold lottery tickets, and also danced in the corps de ballet.

During one of the numbers Claudia liked the members of the jury and was transferred from the servants to the participants of the project. As a result, she became the winner of the competition and went to the Venice Film Festival as a prize.

First steps in film career

Appearance at the Venice Film Festival was a turning point in the biography of Claudia Cardinale. Here, her beauty was noticed by many directors, and the girl began to offer to act. However, remembering her first unsuccessful film experience, Claudia decided that she needed to study. She moved to Rome and began attending acting classes at the Cinechita studio.

The irony is that when she entered, she was so nervous that she failed. At the same time, her photogenicity and beauty forced the admissions committee to have mercy and enroll Cardinale in courses anyway.

Soon noticed the beautyproduced by Franco Cristaldi. His film company "Vides" concluded with Claudia a seven-year contract for the performance of minor roles. After its expiration, another one was concluded - for a period of 10 years.

The terms of both agreements were truly onerous. Cristaldi controlled everything from weight and hairstyle to personal life and even outlook on life. However, it was his merit that the pretty girl from Tunisia became a world celebrity, overshadowing many other famous Italian actresses. The actress collaborated with Franco Cristaldi until 1975

Thanks to the producer, Claudia's first role in the film "Intruders, as always, remained unknown" glorified her and opened up great prospects.

In the coming years, actress Claudia Cardinale will appear in such films as "Damned Confusion", "Audacious Raid of Unknown Intruders", "Rocco and His Brothers", "Cartouche", etc.

The most beautiful and talented men of France and Italy become her partners: Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon, Jean Rochefort, Jean-Paul Belmondo and others. It is worth noting that after each work of the actress with famous men, rumors appeared in society about their romance with Claudia. However, the actress herself denied most of them. It is known that they subsequently maintained a long-term friendship with Delon, and Claudia may have had a short-term romance with Belmondo.

Unfortunately, despite her popularity, many directors continued to perceive the girl as just a beautiful face on the screen. Therefore, the most significant for her in this periodbecame a role in the film Valerio Zurlini "Girl with a suitcase". She had a chance to play the dissolute Aida. In this image, the actress managed to prove her mastery of reincarnation, and she began to be offered more serious roles.

"Leopard" and "Eight and a half"

The real breakthrough for Cardinale was the film "Leopard". On the set of this project, she again worked with Alain Delon. Young people played the role of lovers. Moreover, the actress managed to outplay her partner and create on the screen the image of a captivating predator, who, despite her rudeness and vulgarity, aroused real admiration.

It is worth noting that while working on the film "The Leopard" Claudia spoke very little Italian. Therefore, she memorized her lines as a tongue twister, which did not prevent the actress from playing well. This despite the fact that it was very hot on the set, and the girl was dressed in puffy dresses with numerous skirts and frills.

In parallel with The Leopard, Cardinale starred in Federico Fellini's tragicomedy Eight and a Half. Here Marcello Mastroianni again became her partner. The success of the tape all over the world, 2 Oscars and a host of other awards allowed everyone who starred in it to become famous. The same thing happened with Claudia. Now she was invited to appear not only in Europe, but also in Hollywood.

Storming the Star Factory

The beautiful Italian with a dainty French accent looked like a charming exotic in the US, and Claudia had no end to filming offers. Unfortunately, the choice of roles continued to be controlled by her.producer.

Since 1963, American films with Claudia Cardinale began to appear. The first of these was the comedy The Pink Panther, in which the actress played Princess Dala.

In the future, she starred mainly in westerns and action films. The first of these was The Lost Squad (1966). In this tape, in addition to Claudia, such stars as Alain Delon and Anthony Quinn played.

The next picture in her filmography was the most popular western of its time "Professionals". In it, the girl played the kidnapped beauty Maria Gran, who is rescued by four brave cowboys. In this tape, Claudia again starred with Burt Lancaster, who was her partner in Leopard.

In 1967, the romantic film “Don't Make Waves” was released in the USA, in which the heroine Cardinale played a movie novel with the character of the famous American heartthrob Tony Curtis.

The next in a series of films with Claudia Cardinale is the Italian-American western Once Upon a Time in the Wild West. In this picture, the actress played the role of the farmer's widow, Jill McBain, who by chance finds herself at the center of the struggle for land. Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson starred with her.

Red Tent

After several years of work in Hollywood, Claudia leaves from there. There are different versions of why the actress abandoned such a successful career. Some said that she was too lazy to learn English, others that Franco Cristaldi was afraid that the Americans would lure away his main star, and therefore took her back to Europe. Still others believe that in the United States in the middleThe 60s were full of their own stars for every taste, so they didn’t really need Cardinale.

Whichever version is true, after several jobs in Hollywood, Claudia comes to shoot in the USSR. Here she participates in the film "Red Tent" (a joint project of the USSR, Great Britain and Italy). The tape tells about the unsuccessful Arctic expedition of Umberto Nobile. Claudia plays the role of Malmgren's beloved nurse Valeria in it.

According to the plot, most of the actress's scenes are wallowing in the snow with a brave geophysicist. Filming took place on the street in a real 30-degree frost. For Claudia, who actually grew up in Africa, such weather conditions were extremely unusual. So that she would not stiffen, she was rubbed with vodka and even allowed to warm up with this “elixir” from the inside. As a result, the actress did an excellent job. But her shooting partner, Eduard Martsevich, broke his leg.

In the film "Red Tent", the actress also had a chance to play in the same scenes with the cult at that time the performer of the role of James Bond - Sean Connery.

Other famous roles

After the "Red Tent", the actress returns to film in her homeland. Moreover, most of her works of this period are international joint projects: "The Adventures of Gerard", "Australian Girl", "Oil Producers", etc.

When an actress turns 36, her producer Cristaldi begins to promote a new young star, and gradually tries to push Claudia into the background. For an actressbecomes the last straw, and she breaks off all relations with him: both personal and business. Becoming her own mistress, Cardinale begins to actively shoot with Pasquale Squitieri, who becomes her husband.

The break with Cristaldi did not really affect the career of Claudia Cardinale. She still remains in demand among Italian and French directors. Her most famous works in the coming years are "The General Feeling of Shame" (1976), "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), "Corleone" (1978), "The Inevitable Sacrifice" (1978), "Flight to Athena" (1979), films "Salamander" (1981), "Gift" (1982), American projects "The Trail of the Pink Panther" (1982), "Son of the Pink Panther" (1993) and "Princess Daisy" (1983), "Henry IV" (1984), "A Man in Love" (1987), "Desert on Fire" (1997), "My Dear Enemy" (1999) and others.

The fate of the actress today

In the 80s, Claudia moved to Paris. She considers this city her third home, after Tunisia and Rome.

Starting from the 2000s, the actress began to act a little because of her advanced age. The fact is that playing the elderly heroines of Claudia is not interesting. However, sometimes she makes exceptions and appears in separate films: "Thread" (2009), "Father" (2011), "Roman dates" (2015).

Also, Cardinale participates in photo shoots for various magazines.

In her free time, the actress participates in the work of the AIDS relief fund.

Personal life of Claudia Cardinale

This part of the actress's life has always been under the gun of journalists and fans. However, it so happened that until the age of 36, full-fledgedthe actress could not manage her time and heart.

At the age of 17, during the wave of popularity after winning the title "The most beautiful Italian woman in Tunisia", one of the townspeople raped Cardinale. Being brought up in strictness, the girl was ashamed to confess to her parents, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, it was already too late to have an abortion.

Franco Cristaldi helped solve the problem. He not only talked to his parents, but also helped the actress hide the pregnancy until the 7th month, and sent her to London for the rest of the time. There, Claudia gave birth to a son, Patrizio.

At the same time, the same Cristaldi forced the actress to give her son to be raised by her mother and hide the presence of a child from society, as this would spoil the image of Cardinale. For many years, the actress was forced to pass off her son as a younger brother. Even Patrizio himself learned the truth only at the age of 8.

As for the relationship with Cristaldi, despite the fact that the producer was married, over time, he and Cardinale began to secretly meet.

In 1966, with the permission of the Vatican, Franco's first marriage was annulled, and he was able to legalize relations with Claudia. The man even officially adopted Patrick. However, all this was issued in the United States and, according to Italian laws, was invalid. Despite this, the couple were together until 1975, until they divorced.

The break was initiated by the actress, as she fell in love with another - Pasquale Squitieri. In addition, by that time, Cristaldi had begun to pay less attention to Claudia's career, using it to promote younger actresses. There were also rumors that he had affairs on the side.

Unlike the first marriage, the union with Squitieri was never formalized, and Claudia and Pasquale still live in a civil marriage, which does not prevent them from being happy.

In 1979, the actress gave birth to a daughter from a loved one, whom the director named after the actress Claudia.

Today the children of Claudia Cardinale are adults and independent. Patrizio lives in the USA and several times a year the actress and her husband visit him. Patrizio's daughter, Lucilla (ironically she is 3 months older than Claudia Scoutieri), lives with the widowed mother of the actress in Rome. The daughter herself, Claudia, lives in Paris, not far from her parents. She specializes in art history and writes books.

Fun Facts

• The real name of this charming actress is Claude Josephine Rose Cardinale. However, due to the difficulty with pronunciation and the length of the name, the girl began to use a pseudonym.
• Claudia's height is 1.73 m.
• As for the parameters of the figure, Claudia Cardinale was almost always close to ideal. In her youth, it was 94 - 59 - 94, and by forty the actress allowed herself to recover a little to 97 - 61 - 94. This despite the fact that at this age she gave birth to her youngest daughter.
• By nature, Claudia has a low, slightly hoarse voice, characteristic of many Italian women. However, according to many directors, he contrasted too much with the noble posture of the actress, so before the film "The Bride of Boubet" (1963), Cardinale's heroines were dubbed.
• Growing up in Tunisia (at that time it was the territory of France), the girl considered French to be her native language, but she spoke Italian much worse, and with a very noticeable accent. Only in adulthood did the actress improve her Italian and also learned English.
• Over the years of work in the cinema, Claudia Cardinale has collected many awards. The most significant of them are the Order of Merit for the Italian Republic, the Order of the French Legion of Honor, the Russian Golden Eagle award and the Armenian award named after Sergei Parajanov.