No silicon, no plastic surgery… nothing, just a masterpiece of God. She was a stunning beauty back in her hey-day 😮😮 Hold your breath and take a look at how this iconic actress looks today, at age 86……See her in the comments 👇🏻😍
Claudia Cardinale’s six-decade career made her an iconic figure in Italian and international cinema. Born in Tunisia, she was discovered at 18 after being crowned Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia, which launched her film career. Despite early success, her rise was marked by personal trauma. Pregnant at 18 from a violent assault, she kept her son’s identity secret for years. Under the control of producer and husband Franco Cristaldi, who managed her career and personal life strictly, she struggled with depression and limited freedom before leaving him in 1975.
Cardinale’s notable roles include Rocco and His Brothers, 8½, The Leopard, The Pink Panther, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Often compared to Brigitte Bardot, she distinguished herself by never appearing nude, preferring to leave more to the imagination. Though she found Hollywood limiting, she prioritized artistic integrity over fame and money.
Married to director Pasquale Squitieri until his death in 2017, Cardinale has one daughter. Now 86, she lives in France, remains in good health, and works as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for women’s rights. Her story is one of resilience, talent, and empowerment, continuing to inspire new generations.
Italian film diva Claudia Cardinale turns 85
Claudia Cardinale is Italy’s counterpart to France’s Brigitte Bardot. She quickly rose to stardom to almost just as quickly disappear from the scene later on. Now, Claudia Cardinale celebrates her 85th birthday.
The Italian star was originally discovered at a beauty contest held in 1957 by the Unitalia film company. The “most beautiful Italian woman of Tunis” subsequently won a trip to the Venice Film Festival that was to become a decisive turning point in her life. The sultry young woman was born on April 15, 1938, in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Her mother was French, and her father Italian.
In 1958, Cardinale, known as CC, played her first role in “Goha” opposite Omar Sharif before being trained as an actress at the Italian Film Academy in Rome. Her talents as an actress renowned for her dauntless rambunctiousness gained her fame, and her gaze into the camera became legendary.
Famous director Luchino Visconti gave her minor roles in “Rocco and his Brothers” (1960), as well as in the historical drama “The Leopard” (1962) with Alain Delon. As she later recounted in a biographical interview, she rebuffed all of her famous film partners, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Marcello Mastroianni, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster.
A beauty queen turned into a film diva
Cardinale is Italy’s counterpart of Brigitte Bardot. But in contrast to Bardot, Cardinale never appeared nude in a film: “I always thought it was more erotic to leave some room to imagination, hinting at things rather than showing everything,” she told the German magazine Stern in 2014.
CC achieved her breakthrough with her performance in the highly popular Italo western “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1969). The classical western directed by Sergio Leone and starring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson was shot in Rome’s Cinecittà studios and in Spain with some scenes set in Utah’s Monument Valley. The film that flopped in the US only acquired cult status in Europe.
CC’s career already saw a downswing in the 1970s. She then turned to television films, especially entertainment films where she showed some talent as a comedian. She got her last main role in a movie in 1971 when she starred opposite her main rival, Brigitte Bardot, in the Italo western comedy “Frenchie King.”
Spending time in a jungle with Werner Herzog
Ten years later, CC starred in German director Werner Herzog’s historical film “Fitzcarraldo” (1981). Although Claudia Cardinale had a difficult time enduring the bouts of anger of her eccentric film partner Klaus Kinski, she greatly enjoyed shooting and working with director Werner Herzog: “Being in the middle of the jungle with insects all around me and nothing to eat was one of my most wonderful adventures,” she later stated.
In 1993, CC received a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival to be followed in 2002 by an “honorary bear” at the Berlinale. The spirited actress performed in more than 100 films.
In 2017, CC once again drew attention at an international film festival. A photo depicting her as a young actress embellished a placard in Cannes where she had often been invited as an honorary guest. On April 15, Claudia Cardinale will turn 80. Happy birthday!