Claudia Cardinale, 1938 – 2025

Glamorous Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, 87, died on Sept. 23. Born in Tunisia to Italian parents, she moved to Italy as a teen and, with the help of her husband, producer Franco Cristaldi, worked her way to stardom by 1960. Over the decades (she made her last film in 2022), Cardinale appeared in such multi-national vehicles as Big Deal on Madonna Street, Rocco and His Brothers, 8-1/2, Il Bell' Antonio, Girl with a Suitcase, Cartouche, The Pink Panther, The Professionals, The Hell with Heroes, Don’t Make Waves, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Salamander, Fitzcarraldo, and Bebo's Girl. After parting from Cristaldi, Cardinale lived with director Pasquale Squitieri for more than 40 years. Of becoming a star, she said, “To do this kind of work, you have to be very strong, otherwise you lose your personality, your identity. You don't know who you are. It's fantastic because I've been living thousands of lives, not only my life.” Of her failure to become as big a star in the US as Loren or Lollobrigida, she shrugged, “I don't like the star system. I'm a normal person. I like to live in Europe. I mean, I've been going to Hollywood many, many times, but I didn't want to sign a contract.”