Claude Josephine Rose Cardinale (Claude Josephine Rose Cardinale) - a popular actress of Italian cinema in the sixties of the twentieth century. Stage name - Claudia Cardinale (Claudia Cardinale). The list of films of the actress has more than 50 films, she worked with directors: Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Gianfranco Corsi, Frenchman Claude Lelouch and others. Repeatedly received various awards, she is the ambassador of UNESCO.
Biography
The future actress Claudia Cardinale was born in the middle of spring on April 15, 1938. Despite the fact that her parents are Italians, the girl was born in Tunisia, where the Cardinal couple moved in search of a better place of residence. Tunisia at that time was a French colony and the language of the metropolitan countries for the children of Cardinal became native.
Parents
The head of the family was a Sicilian entrepreneur, in Africa he was engaged in the construction of the first railway of Tunisia. Claudia's father was always remembered in a white suit in a convertible.
Mother Yolanda Greco (Iolanda Greco) - the daughter of a shipbuilder from Sicily, a cheerful girl with excellent vocal skills and a wonderful laugh. Parents differed from other inhabitants of the colony by their beauty and education. They were able to pass on all this to their children: the slender and dark-haired daughters of Claudia and Blanche, as well as the two youngest sons. The older sister received the male nickname Claude for boyish agility and agility, the second daughter was more calm and balanced.
Mother and father did not give children concessions in education, were strict and demanding. If the children did something wrong, they were severely punished. And Claudia, as the eldest in the family, tried to command all the other children.
School years
School teachers also adhered to conservative methods of upbringing, and classmates often teased and beat children of the Cardinal, calling them fascists.Claudia did not take offense in her youth, entering into fights, for which she was often punished by teachers.
Puritan upbringing led to the fact that by her teens, the girl did not use makeup, went in black clothes and strictly abided by chastity.
But the “nun’s robe" became harder and harder every year to hide the girl’s blossoming beauty. She never thought about the career of an actress and in the future saw herself as a missionary teacher. She wanted to travel across the African continent and teach young children, although she loved cinema very much. Claudia Cardinale Marlon Brando and Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot were especially distinguished.
In cinema against the will
Fate decided otherwise. When the girl was 14 years old, their school was visited by a novice director - Frenchman René Vautier. In his documentary Golden Rings about Tunisian sailors, the role of a young Arab girl was not taken. He hoped to find a suitable character among Muslim schoolgirls, but parents who did not allow frivolity did not allow children to star in the film. Then Vautier began to look for a European woman who looks similar to an Arab woman and chose Claudia.
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In the picture, the girl is shown close-up for several seconds, these are amazing shots. A gust of wind blew her handkerchief from her face and bewitching black eyes looked directly at the audience. The picture took 1st place among many others at the Berlin Film Festival, and the audience and members of the jury were simply delighted with the unknown girl. After that, she received an offer to take part in a fashion show for youth and Claudia Cardinale soon saw her photos from the catwalk on the first page of a fashion magazine of that time.
Then the beginning actress was noticed by the popular Egyptian film actor Omar al-Sharif (Omar Sharif) and invited the Frenchman Jacques Baratier (Jacques Baratier), who shot the historical film "Goha", to take the girl to sample. The director became interested in the type of girl and asked her father for permission to shoot Claudia. My father did not mind, but the younger Blanche burst into tears, because she herself wanted to act in films. Claudia at first did not want to act, she asked Baratier to take her younger sister, but he laughed in response.
An important event
A combination of circumstances pushed Cardinal to an acting career. Once, during the next beauty contest, two sisters were selling lottery tickets next to the stage. One of the jury members saw Claudia and announced that she was the winner of the contest, pulled the girl onto the stage and soon she took the honorary title of the most beautiful girl.
The award for participating in the competition was a visit to the Venice Film Festival in 1957. It was a different world, filled with a fairy tale, light, wonderful transformations, light and smiles.
There, directors and producers began to offer her episodic roles and film screenings, which Claudia initially refused. Only film producer Franco Cristaldi saw the huge potential of a movie star in Claudia and invited her to sign a contract with her company Vides Cinematografica for 7 years on a supporting role. The agreement contained bans for the girl to cut her hair, gain weight and get married. As time has shown, this turned out to be a mutually beneficial contract: the actress received many good roles, and the company made good money on this.
Cristaldi helped his protege get roles in the paintings: “Attackers, as always, remained unknown” (“I Soliti Ignoti”, 1958) and “Three Foreigners in Rome” (“Tre straniere a Roma”, 1958). Partners on the Cardinal stage were stars such as Vittorio Gassman, Renato Salvatori, Nando Bruno. Only one unpleasant event overshadowed the beginning of a career ....
Son introduced by brother
Before the beauty contest, Claudia began to notice that a suspicious man was chasing her. He waited after class, followed her home and followed Claudia everywhere, which undoubtedly frightened the young beauty. Once, a friend asked if Claudia wants to meet a young man and introduced her to that same man. He drove after the girl after class to take to a girlfriend for a party. Claudia drove away all fears from herself, deciding that a new friend would not offend her.
When they got into the car, the man took the girl to the wrong place. They left the city where Claudia was raped. The rapist intimidated the girl, ordering to be silent and she was afraid to immediately confess to her parents. It soon turned out that she was expecting a baby. That man met his victim and offered to get rid of pregnancy, the girl refused.
At the 7th month, it became almost impossible to hide the growing belly and Claudia admitted to her position Kristaldi, proposing to stop cooperation. Franco reassured Cardinale and helped her hide the pregnancy from everyone else.
The producer took on such an unpleasant mission, how to report about the incident to Claudia's parents, they were terribly angry. The father did not communicate with his daughter for a long time. But urgent action was needed and the producer sent the girl to the capital of Great Britain, where in October 1958 the baby Patrick was born. Soon her mother arrived there.
The child was taken away by her grandmother, calling him her son, so it was necessary to preserve the integrity of the “bride of Italy” for the press and not to violate the clauses of the contract. Everyone was told that he was the brother of the actress, and Claudia Cardinale also went for it. My son, up to 8 years old, had no idea who his mother was, and when the truth was revealed, time was lost and it was not possible to establish a warm relationship.
The beginning of life in Rome
Life in the capital depressed Claudia with a crazy rhythm, which for a long time could not adapt. She began training at the courses of actors at the Roman cinema center, where at first she could not go because of shyness, it was difficult for her to open up.
But the photo tests came out great, Claudia Cardinale made photos in her youth without make-up artists and they were at the highest level.
When she was offered the role of Aida in the film “Girl with a Suitcase” (“La ragazza con la valigia”, 1960), the actress did not particularly think about the image. According to the scenario, the main character from a poor family had to keep her pregnancy secret, as did Claudia herself recently. The role was successful brilliantly, but after the actress fell into a depressed state. The personal past mixed up on stage with the life of the heroine and caused a storm of unpleasant emotions. She wanted to leave the movie, from which directors and scriptwriters dissuaded her for a long time and succeeded.
Star fans
The camera loved the actress and on stage she was a goddess. But the difficulties with the Italian language brought her a lot of trouble. Sometimes it was necessary to memorize roles by ear, however, gradually the girl coped with everything.
In 1960, the young actress was offered the role of Barbara in the movie “Handsome Antonio” (“Il bell'Antonio”, 1960) where Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni became her script lover. The man did not take his eyes off the girl and soon confessed her love. Claudia, taught by bitter experience, could not, and did not want to open herself to men for love. She simply laughed in response, which greatly hurt the pride of the actor, he was not used to such refusals.
In 1960, Luchino Visconti made the film for the first time, where Claudia Cardinale began working with him. Films of the maestro "Rocco and his brothers" ("Rocco ei suoi fratelli", 1960), "Leopard" ("Il Gattopardo", 1963), "Misty stars of the Big Dipper" ("Vaghe stelle dell'orsa ..." , 1965) and Family Portrait in the Interior (Gruppo di famiglia in un interno, 1974) with the participation of a young star became true works of art.
In Rocco and the Brothers, Claudia Cardinale played Ginetta, the faithful and loving wife of her older brother. In these shootings, she met Alain Delon (Alain Delon). The director liked this couple and Visconti invited them to the role of spouses in the movie "Leopard".
In real life, they were friends and the romance almost started. Scenes of love with a young handsome actor tormented her, but the Puritan upbringing did not allow her to surrender to the surging passion. Alain saw how his wife was tormented by the script and decided that he had already achieved it. He argued with Visconti that he would win the girl’s heart and lose. The cardinal flirted with pleasure, but the relationship did not advance further.
Not all fans could resist Claudia Cardinale. The girl’s biography reveals one story that happened on the set of La Viaccia (La viaccia, 1961). Her attention was attracted by a young man who made everyone laugh outside the set, shy and timid with the girls. He gracefully and gently showed Claudia signs of attention and she gladly accepted his courtship. It was Jean-Paul Belmondo.
A little later, on the set of Cartouche (Cartouche, 1961), the Cardinal-Belmondo couple met again. The girl was seriously carried away by the actor, trying to imitate him in everything. She, like her partner, did not use the services of stuntmen during the crossing of rapids on a raft. Their duet worked harmoniously and sincerely, the emotions of the actors beat over the edge, which had a positive effect on the perception of the film by the audience.
Claudia's career was constantly going up, but one circumstance was a deterrent for the girl. Her long-term contract with Kristaldi made Claudia hostage to the producer.
He controlled the whole life of the Cardinal: roles in paintings, created image, working hours, fees. Unofficially, Claudia was considered his wife. On tour, they lived in the same room, but the girl always turned to Franco only officially. In the early sixties, a man made an offer to the actress and she was afraid to refuse. They married secretly from everyone.
The conquest of Hollywood
The paintings of Lukino Visconti and Federico Fellini made Cardinal a world star. Already famous, the actress goes to Hollywood, hoping to find her place among the American acting elite. Blake Edwards (Blake Edwards) called her to star in the film "Pink Panther" (The Pink Panther, 1963). This is a detective comedy starring the Englishman Peter Sellers. He was tormented by inseparable feelings for Sophia Loren during the entire time of filming. Claudia was supposed to portray a constantly drunk princess from Russia.
When the Italian was on vacation in the staff room, there someone from the crew smoked hash. In the end, the Cardinal came on the scene really drunk.
After that, there were several more insignificant roles and Claudia returned home. A long contract for a job in Hollywood could not be signed.
In Soviet Union
Domestic viewers saw Claudia Cardinale in the movie La Ragazza di Bube (1963) directed by Luigi Comencini. This is an anti-fascist story about a girl who is a member of the Resistance, who transforms into a true fighter.
In the sixties, director Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov decided to shoot a picture of the failed scientific expedition of Umberto Nobile to the North. The picture was conceived on a large scale and involved large investments. Suddenly, the Italian Kristaldi provides the Soviet director with a fabulous sum of $ 10 million, provided that Cardinal will be shot in the film. Especially for her type, the role of a nurse was invented.
In 1967, Claudia attended the Moscow film festival as a guest. In 1968, she came to the Union for the second time to shoot. The Cardinal was not particularly eager to play such a role, but Kristaldi's actions were not subject to discussion. The painting was called "Red Tent." Claudia Cardinale worked together with: Nikita Mikhalkov, Thomas Sean Connery, Eduard Evgenievich Martsevich and Peter Ingle Finch (Peter Ingle Finch). Italian painting - “La tenda rossa”, English - “The Red Tent”, released in 1969.
Claudia dyed her blonde and, in thirty-degree frost, rolled down the hill with Martsevich until he broke his leg. Before filming, the actress was rubbed with alcohol and allowed to drink vodka.
Top movies
The film "Leopard", revealing the epochal secrets of the Garibaldi century, taught the young actress a lot. Claudia played Angelina, the daughter of a wealthy and corrupt politician, A. Delon was her husband.
The film crew and cast worked in difficult conditions of terrible heat. Actors wore real costumes of that century and wore make-up all the time, accessories were real, antique, including stockings, perfumes and scarves. The ball had to be removed within a month. Visconti demanded that the actress have a special gait and ambiguous facial expressions. Her eyes were supposed to express the opposite of what she was saying. And the Cardinal learned this!
In parallel with the Leopard in 1963, the Fellini painting “8½ Otto e mezzo” (“Eight and a Half”) was being shot. Claudia Cardinale recreated the image of an impeccable girl painted in the dreams of the main character Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni).
Fellini in a revived dream saw only the Cardinal, giving the heroine the name Claudia. The picture was shot in Sicily, the actress was torn between two cities. Visconti scolded Claudia for collaborating with Fellini, as he openly did not like this director and his work.
Visconti loved order and coherence on the set, while Fellini created in hustle and bustle, inventing scripts on the go. But Fellini, despite the girl’s rude voice, allowed him not to duplicate, as was done earlier. Claudia was grateful to him for such a decision.
For a picture shot in the country of the Soviets, in 1971, Claudia got a role in the comedy Christian-Jaque (Christian-Jaque) "Oil producers" ("Les pétroleuses", 1971) together with Brigitte Bardot (Brigitte Bardot). The picture was waiting for a successful presentation and a rich movie rental. Claudia made friends with Brigitte for many years.
Family
The influence of an autocratic husband pursued Claudia all his life. After several years of such a relationship, the actress truly falls in love with the young director Pasquale Squitieri, who at that time had a wife and three children.
She admitted to her husband that she loves another person. Kristaldi became furious, began to threaten that he would kill himself, destroy the career of Claudia, but his previously submissive wife had become adamant. Then the jealous husband tried to ruin the life of his wife's lover. He raised all his connections, Pascual was forbidden to make films, and he blamed his beloved on this. He did not want to take his wife away from an influential person and thereby ruin his career.
After 3 years, everything gradually improved. Squitieri got good pictures, and Claudia had a daughter from her beloved, who was named after her mother. A couple of months before the momentous event, Claudia became a grandmother. Patricio has a daughter, Lucile.
Claudia lives with her husband in Paris, sometimes acts in films, visits relatives in Rome, conducts social activities.
Interesting Facts
- In 1963, the world press devoted 29 thousand articles to Claudia Cardinal.
- In 2008, the actress received an award - the Legion of Honor.
- The growth of the actress is 168 cm.
- The name of the father of the son of Patrick Claudia has not yet been announced.
- Cardinal and Cristaldi married in the USA in 1966, but did not announce this, since the producer’s first marriage had not yet been dissolved by the church.
- Cristaldi gave his son Claudia his last name, but the boy is not an heir, since marriage in Italy was not considered valid.
- Claudia speaks Italian, Arabic, French, English, and Spanish.
- Blanche, Claudia's sister, also worked as an actress, but did not become famous.
