CLAUDIA CARDINALE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Claudia Cardinale was born on April 15th, 1938 in Tunis, French Protectorate Tunisia with the birth name Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale.  Her native languages were French and Tunisian Arabic.  It was not until she began working in the film industry on Italian films that she became fluent in Italian as well.
 
Her career in entertainment began as a beauty pageant contestant.  At the age of seventeen she began studying at Centro Sperimentale in Rome.  She entered a beauty contest and soon was appearing in small roles in a number of films.  In 1957 she won the Italian embassy's, "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" contest.   
 
Soon she was seen in such films as, "Goha" (1957), "I soliti ignoti" (1958), "Careless" (1962), "8 1/2" (1963), "Cartouche" (1963)  and "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968).  She was becoming a highly successful sex symbol and was gaining a great deal of fans.   
 
Majority of her films were Italian made films as she had no real interest to leave Italy and break into Hollywood.  She only appeared in a small number of American made films such as, "The Pink Panther" (1963), "Circus World" (1964) starring John Wayne and Rita Hayworth, "Blindfold" (1965) and "The Professionals" (1966) starring alongside Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin and Woody Strode.
 
She continues to work in the industry with some of her latest roles being on, "Qui comincia l'avventura" (1975), "Fitzcarraldo" (1982), "Un homme amoureux" (1987), "Mayrig" (1991), "And now…Ladies and Gentlemen" (2002), "The String" (2010) and soon to release in 2012, "Gebo et l'ombre", "El artista y la modelo", "Effie" and "Deauville".
 
Throughout her lifetime she has married twice.  Her first husband was Franco Cristaldi who also managed her career in the beginning and they were married from 1966 through 1975.  She then married Pasquale Squitieri and together they had one child and are currently separated.  She has one other child from a relationship with a French man. 
 
Claudia has received a number of honors thus far throughout her career as an Italian actress.  Claudia won the Golden Orange Best Actress Award for her role in the film, "Signora Enrica" (2010) and has earned Lifetime Achievement awards from festivals in Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Tunisia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Morocco and the United States. 
 
She is very active in Feminist rights as well as gay rights.  She is also a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for the Defense of Women's Rights as well as a good will ambassador for the UNESCO World Water Day. 

Filmography

2012 Deauville 
2012 Effie
2012 El artista y la modelo
2012 Gebo et l'ombre 
2011 Joy de V.
2010 A View of Love 
2010 Sinyora Enrica ile Italyan Olmak
2009 The String 
2008 Hold-up à l'italienne 
2007 Cherche fiancé tous frais payés 
2005 The Demon Stirs
2002 And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen... 
2000 Élisabeth - Ils sont tous nos enfants
1999 Brigands
1999 Un café... l'addition
1998 Mia, Liebe meines Lebens
1998 Riches, belles, etc. 
1997 Deserto di fuoco
1997 Sous les pieds des femmes
1997 Nostromo
1995 10-07: L'affaire Zeus 
1994 Elles ne pensent qu'à ça... 
1993 Son of the Pink Panther 
1993 Mother
1993 Flash - Der Fotoreporter 
1992 Mother
1991 Mother 
1990 La batalla de los Tres Reyes 
1990 Act of Sorrow 
1989 Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre 
1989 La révolution française
1988 Blu elettrico 
1987 A Man in Love
1986 Hit Man 
1986 History
1985 L'été prochain 
1985 Woman of Wonders 
1984 Claretta Petacci
1984 Henry IV 
1983 Princess Daisy 
1983 Le ruffian
1982 Bankers Also Have Souls
1982 Fitzcarraldo
1981 La pelle
1981 The Salamander
1980 Si salvi chi vuole
1980 Goodbye e amen 
1979 Escape to Athena
1978 L'arma
1978 Little Girl in Blue Velvet 
1978 Fire's Share 
1978 Corleone 
1977 Il prefetto di ferro
1977 Jesus of Nazareth
1976 Il comune senso del pudore
1975 Blonde in Black Leather 
1975 Libera, amore mio... 
1975 The Immortal Bachelor 
1974 Conversation Piece
1974 I guappi
1973 Days of Fury 
1972 Scoumoune 
1972 L'udienza
1971 A Girl in Australia 
1971 Frenchie King 
1971 Popsy Pop 
1970 The Adventures of Gerard 
1969 The Red Tent 
1969 Certain, Very Certain, As a Matter of Fact... Probable
1969 The Conspirators 
1968 Once Upon a Time in the West
1968 A Fine Pair
1968 The Hell with Heroes
1968 Mafia
1968 La amante estelar
1967 Don't Make Waves
1967 A Rose for Everyone
1966 The Queens 
1966 The Professionals
1966 Lost Command
1965 Blindfold
1965 Sandra
1964 The Magnificent Cuckold
1964 Circus World
1964 Time of Indifference
1963 Bebo's Girl
1963 The Pink Panther
1963 The Leopard 
1963 8½
1962 Careless 
1962 Cartouche
1961 Kolka, My Friend 
1961 The Lions Are Loose 
1961 La viaccia
1961 Girl with a Suitcase 
1960 Silver Spoon Set
1960 Rocco and His Brothers
1960 Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti 
1960 The Magistrate
1960 The Battle of Austerlitz
1960 Bell' Antonio 
1959 Upstairs and Downstairs 
1959 The Facts of Murder 
1959 Anneaux d'or
1959 Venetian Honeymoon 
1959 Vento del Sud 
1958 Tre straniere a Roma
1958 Big Deal on Madonna Street
1958 Goha