Claudia Cardinale

Claudia Cardinale, the Tunisian-born Italian actress whose vivid presence defined films by Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, and Sergio Leone, died September 23, 2025, in Nemours, France. She was 87, according to her agent.

Born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale on April 15, 1938, in Tunis, Tunisia, she was the daughter of Sicilian parents. A beauty contest first took her to the Venice Film Festival, launching a career that would span six decades.

Cardinale became an international name in 1963, appearing as Claudia, the idealized vision of youthful purity, in Fellini's "8½" and as Angelica in Visconti's "The Leopard." She later anchored Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," bringing grit and warmth to the spaghetti western. Hollywood then beckoned, and she co-starred in "The Pink Panther," "The Professionals," and other English-language films while continuing to prioritize European cinema.

Through more than 100 screen roles, Cardinale cultivated a persona of strength, sensuality, and independence. Honors followed, including the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and appointment as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for women's rights.

She spoke candidly about the pressures of early fame and the challenges of being shaped by powerful men in the industry, yet she retained control of her path, working with directors from Werner Herzog to Henri Verneuil. Tributes from European leaders hailed her as one of cinema's defining figures.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)