Overview

• Agent Laurent Savry confirmed Tuesday’s death to AFP, stating the Franco-Italian star died in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne, at her residence with her children present.
• Born in Tunis in 1938, she was propelled to film after being named the “most beautiful Italian in Tunisia” in 1957 and noticed at the Venice Film Festival.
• She collaborated with leading directors including Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Richard Brooks and Henri Verneuil.
• Key roles spanned Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960), Le Guépard (Palme d’Or, 1963, noted for its 47-minute ballroom sequence) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) underscored by Ennio Morricone.
• In Leone’s western she was the sole principal female character, chosen over Sofia Loren, and she consistently declined to be filmed nude.