A major figure in European cinema, renowned even in Hollywood, Claudia Cardinale died on September 23, 2025, in Nemours, at the age of 87, her agent Laurent Savry announced to AFP. Born in Tunis, the Franco-Italian actress worked with Visconti, Fellini, and Leone, from Italy to France and the United States. Her rediscovered voice, her battles, and iconic roles paint a portrait that illuminates an era and its constraints. Among the films with Claudia Cardinale, many have become cult classics between Italy, France, and Hollywood.
September 23, 2025, in Nemours, a presence fades away
Claudia Cardinale died on September 23, 2025, in Nemours (Seine-et-Marne), where she had recently settled. The announcement, made to AFP by her agent Laurent Savry and made public on September 24, specifies that she passed away "with her children by her side." Born on April 15, 1938, in Tunis, the Franco-Italian actress leaves the mark of a European star who experienced all modernities: the Italy of Visconti and Fellini, the America of Sergio Leone, the France of the following decades. A straight silhouette, a dark gaze, and above all, that husky voice initially confiscated. Then, once found, it reconciled the image with the tone.
Tunis 1938 – Rome 1963: the learning and then the revelation
It all begins with a contest, "the most beautiful Italian in Tunis," in 1957. The young woman arrives in Italy, discovers the sets, and signs exclusive contracts that severely restrict her choices. She quickly breaks through: Goha (1958), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), Girl with a Suitcase (1961) reveal an actress who refuses automatic ingenuousness. But 1963 is a turning point: 8½ and The Leopard place her at the center of the map. With Fellini, she plays temptation and reflection, with Visconti, Angelica Sedara radiates the ball of Donnafugata with quiet authority. A few years later, Sergio Leone entrusts her with Once Upon a Time in the West precisely in 1968: Jill McBain enters history through the dusty station, heroine of the West and her own destiny.
Finding her voice: breaking free from contracts, entering the field
In her early Italian films, Cardinale was not always dubbed by herself: the late Italian, studio practices, and the preference for a smoother feminine tone explain these choices. From 1963, she imposes her own tone. This technical gesture becomes an aesthetic act: presence is no longer limited to the face, it passes through a breath, an irony, a gravity. According to her interviews, the actress would say how the image demanded that certain rough edges be silenced, her resistance consists of reclaiming what makes the individual—the voice, the rhythm, the latitude to refuse. Married to producer Franco Cristaldi from 1966 to 1975, she navigates an intrusive management that decides roles and resells schedules. The rest will be made of arbitrations, renegotiations, a determination to remain in control.
Private life under scrutiny: speaking without displaying
Her intimate life, long kept at a distance, surfaces through a few controlled confidences. Her son, born on October 19, 1958, is kept out of the public narrative for several years, with sources differing on the name Patrick or Patrizio Cristaldi as well as the duration of the secret. According to her own accounts, this concealment was imposed "to protect her career" during the years of her rise. Also, her private life was marked by a rape in adolescence. There is no unhealthy curiosity or additional detail here. Simply, the acknowledgment of a suffered violence and a protection strategy. An industry sometimes demanded this of the young woman.
Film landscapes: Visconti, Fellini, Leone… then Squitieri’s Italy
Cardinale’s filmography reads like a map. Italy, France, United States: she traverses genres without losing the axis of her character: a woman who occupies space. In Rocco and His Brothers (1960), she infuses Visconti’s realism with an electric softness. In The Pink Panther (film with Claudia Cardinale, 1963), she thwarts sophisticated comedy. In The Professionals (1966), she confirms her presence in American action cinema. In Once Upon a Time in the West, she feminizes the western by elevating it to the tragic. From 1974, her relationship with filmmaker Pasquale Squitieri, who became her partner until 2011, guides her towards more political roles, as if the actress sought films that face history. She is later seen in The Legend of Frenchie King (1971) where she confronts a Brigitte Bardot who would become a friend, Fitzcarraldo (cameo, 1982), Claretta (1984), Mayrig (1991), all lateral trajectories that keep the star at a distance from comfort.
Awards and legacy
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to her at the Venice Film Festival in 1993. The Berlinale followed suit, with an Honorary Golden Bear in 2002. Added to these are David di Donatello and Silver Ribbons, a Lumière Award in Lyon, and about forty other distinctions marking a career estimated between 130 and 150 films. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador since March 2000, she advocates for women’s rights and supports environmental initiatives (notably Green Cross Italy or the Green Drop Award in Venice).
Tributes in France and Italy
On the morning of September 24, the announcement triggers a chain of tributes on both sides of the Alps. From the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron hails "a freedom, a gaze, a talent." Minister of Culture Rachida Dati speaks of "an aura forever." In Cannes, Gilles Jacob remembers "the smile, the gaze, and the voice." In Italy, Alessandro Giuli emphasizes this "living bridge between Rome and Paris." Public televisions, cinematheques, and festivals replay images and clips: Angelica at the Donnafugata ball, Jill McBain in the wind-swept station. The mourning also speaks to the breadth of a shared legacy.
What her journey says about the era
Cardinale’s story also tells of the economy of images. Exclusive contracts lock in intrusive producers, youth more sanctified than the age of maturity. She aged on screen without denying herself, accepting the scarcity of leading roles to better continue to endure. This perseverance joins a contemporary debate: what roles for senior actresses? Europe has its counterexamples Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, Isabelle Huppert, Emma Thompson, but opportunities remain finally less and less unequal. The generalization of series and co-productions nonetheless reopens the field. Cardinale’s "lesson" lies in this phrase attributed to her: she never called, she let projects come. A way to stand firm and indicate a dignified sovereignty.
We see her again as Angelica descending the staircase to the sound of a waltz, then Jill framed by the dust of a ghost station. Highly noted by cinephiles, The String (Mehdi Ben Attia, 2009) precedes her beautiful portrayal as Jean Dujardin’s mother in A View of Love (2010). Among all these images, the same strength: holding the shot. Cinema loses a style icon, the films, however, continue to breathe with her unforgettable voice.