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| Claudia Cardinale |
Claudia Cardinale, 84, is an Italian actress who starred in more than 100 films, including “8½” and “The Pink Panther.” Twenty of her films will be screened by New York’s MoMA, with restorations by Italy’s Cinecittà, starting Feb. 3. She and her daughter, Claudia Squitieri, spoke with Marc Myers.
I grew up in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. My parents were Sicilian but were born in Tunis. At the time, Tunisia was a French protectorate with a thriving economy. Sicily was only two hours away by boat, so over time a large Sicilian community had emigrated to Tunis for work.
My father, Francesco, worked as a technical engineer for a rail line that connected the city to the northern suburbs on the coast. My mother, Yolande, was a lively woman who sang in church and organized community events.
We first lived in an apartment in a big house and then we moved by the sea near the airport. I was the oldest of four children. My sister, Blanche, came next, then our brothers Bruno and Adriano.
Our family was humble and happy. At home, my father loved to play the violin. As teenagers, Blanche and I often went to the movies. I was a big fan of Brigitte Bardot. I modeled myself after her, putting my hair in a high ponytail.
In 1955, when I was 17, I was cast with classmates in a short film called “Les Anneaux d’Or” (“Golden Rings”), directed by René Vautier. Two years later, I was given a small role in “Goha,” which starred Omar Sharif.
Among my mother’s many community activities was running an annual beauty pageant that selected the “Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia.” When I was 18 and Blanche was 17, we entered the contest. I won and Blanche came in second.
First prize was a paid trip to the Venice Film Festival, sponsored by the Sicilian community. My whole family went by boat. That was our very first trip to Italy, or anywhere else for that matter.
In Tunis, like most women, I wore bikini tops. That’s what I wore in Venice when we arrived in August 1957. People looked at me as though I had come from another planet. Photographers at the festival took pictures of me, so I started posing.
At one point, a young producer, Franco Cristaldi, introduced himself. He was starting out and looking to assemble actors who would work on his productions. We promised to keep in touch.
Back in Tunis, I had a relationship with a Frenchman who was 10 years older than me. One evening he invited me to a party, but when we arrived, there was no party. I became pregnant.
Then I was invited by Cristaldi to study acting in Rome. I attended the school briefly, staying at my aunt’s house. But when my pregnancy began to show, I told Cristaldi I wanted to return home. He guessed I was pregnant.
By then, Tunisia had become independent from France. As the French departed, Sicilians became isolated. Now they were foreigners and no longer welcome.
I signed with Cristaldi, and he arranged for everything. He took me to London to have my baby and relocated my family to Rome so my mother could raise my son. When I returned, to Rome, Patrick was kept a secret until he was 8.
In Rome, Cristaldi put me in small roles in beautiful films so I’d be noticed. My fame took fire quickly. I bought a house and one next door for my family just outside of the city.
There was a huge machine orchestrated around me to let me make movies. My father helped run it, and my mother traveled with me on set. Blanche tried to become a movie actress in the early 1960s, but it didn’t work out.
My global break came when my films “8½,” “The Leopard” and “The Pink Panther” all came out in 1963. I returned to making movies in Italy at the end of the 1960s and met director Pasquale Squitieri in 1973 on the set of “I Guappi.” A relationship began, and we were together for over 20 years and stayed very close until his passing in 2017.
Today, I live with my daughter, Claudia, and Patrick in a house near Fontainebleau, an hour south of Paris. We have an art residency project there and my children are creating a foundation in my name to pursue my lifetime battles for women’s rights and the environment.
My fame gave my family a better life, but I never forgot that it also took things from them. My father had to give up being the breadwinner, and my mother had to focus on me, which I’m sure was hard on my sister and brothers.
So in Rome, I made couscous every Sunday and planted trees from Tunisia so we’d have Berber figs. At least at the dinner table, we were back in Tunis.
Claudia’s Cravings
Still recognized? It surprises me, but yes. I must admit it’s quite pleasurable.
Where? At local cafes. There is a big Tunisian community here and they protect me.
Favorite view? From my bedroom, I can see the trees and the river on our property.
Favorite snack? Chocolate cake, in moderation. Chocolate makes me happy.
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