Claudia Cardinale

At 86 years old, Claudia Cardinale has this physical status:

Claudia Cardinale (born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale, 15 April 1938) is an Italian-born Tunisian film actress who appeared in some of the most celebrated European films of the 1960s and 1970s, mainly Italian or French, but also in several English-language films. Born and raised in La Goulette, a suburb of Tunisia, Cardinale, won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl" competition in 1957, which led to film careers, owing in large part to Franco Cristaldi's service as her mentor for many years and later marrying her.

Cardinale made her debut in a minor role with Omar Sharif in Goha (1958), She of a Suitcase (1960), The Leopard (1963), and Fellini's 81 (61).

Cardinale became known in the United States and Britain following her appearance in The Pink Panther opposite David Niven in 1963.

She appeared in Hollywood films including Blindfold (1965), Lost Command (1966), The Professionals (1968), and Sergio Leone's epic Western Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), a joint US-Italian film in which she was praised for her appearances as a former prostitute opposite Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, and Henry Fonda. Cardinale returned to Italian and French cinema, not wanting to be a cliché, and she and Alberto Sordi in A Girl in Australia (1971).

Cardinale, 1975-1974), Corleone (1978) and Claretta (1984), the last of which earned her the Nastro d'Argento Award for Best Actress.

She appeared in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo in 1982 as the love interest of Klaus Kinski, who raises the funds to buy a steamship in Peru.

In 2010, Cardinale was named Best Actress Award at the 47th World Film Festival for her role as an elderly Italian woman who takes in a young Turkish exchange student in Signora Enrica. Cardinale has been a UNSCO goodwill ambassador for Women's Rights since March 2000, and has been outspoken on women's rights issues over the years.

The Cardinale was named one of the 50 most beautiful women in film history by the Los Angeles Times in February 2011.

Early life

Claudia Cardinale was born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale in La Goulette, a suburb of Tunis, France, on April 15, 1938. Yolande Greco, her mother, was born in Tunisia to Sicilian emigrants from Trapani. Her maternal grandparents owned a small shipbuilding company in Trapani but later moved to La Goulette, where a large Italian community existed. Francesco Cardinale, her father, was a railway worker who was born in Gela, Sicily. Her mother tongues were French, Tunisian Arabic, and her parents' Sicilian dialect. She didn't know how to speak Italian before being cast for Italian films.

Cardinale was educated at the Carthage-de-l'Apparition school, which she and her younger sister Blanche attended together. She then attended Paul Cambon School, where she aspired to be a teacher. Brigitte Bardot, who came to prominence in the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by Roger Vadim, captured her as a teenager as "silent, strange, and wild."

Personal life

Claudia Cardinale met Franco Cristaldi, an Italian film director, in 1958. The couple had a marriage reception but did not marry, but they became increasingly divorced, according to Cardinale. Cristaldi married Zeudi Araya later in life and had no further professional relations with Cardinale.

Cardinale lived with Pasquale Squitieri, an Italian film producer, for 42 years from 1975 to Squitieri's death on February 18, 2017.

Patrick, who was born illegitimately when she was 19 and later adopted by Cristaldi, and Claudia, who lived with Squitieri, have two children. Cardinale is an Arabic, French, Italian, English, and Spanish. Francesca's niece Francesca is also an actress.

Cardinale has been a feminist feminist who has fought for feminist causes throughout the years. Cardinale, who lives in Paris, has been vocal about her identity as an Italian. She has been a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for Women's Rights since March 2000, and she has served as a goodwill ambassador for the 2006 UNESCO World Water Day.

In 1995, Cardinale published an autobiography with Anne Mori, Io Claudia, Tu Claudia. She has been a regular attendee of the Academy Awards. Her awards include an honorary Golden Lion at the 1993 Venice Film Festival and an Honorary Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival. Cardinale was selected by the Los Angeles Times Magazine in a February 2011 online feature, one of the 50 Most Beautiful Women in Film History. "I never felt scandal and confession were necessary to be an actor," Cardinale said of her acting. I've never revealed myself or even my body in films. "It's very important" is the mystery. In a 2014 interview, she shared her success: "You have to have inner strength if you want to pursue this art." If you don't have a clue about who you are, you'll lose your sense of who you are. Any film I make involves becoming a different person.

And in front of a camera, no less!

"I'm still me" when I'm done, but it's okay."

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Career

René Vautier, a French director, produced a short film titled Anneaux d'or at the Berlin Film Festival, and Cardinale's first film performance was on display. The film made her a minor local celebrity, and she was spotted by Jacques Baratier, who gave her a minor role in Goha. After Baratier revealed that he wanted a Tunisian actress rather than an Italian to play in the main role opposite Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, she reluctantly accepted it. Despite this, her debut was nevertheless a highlight on her debut in film. The turning point came during the Italian Cinema Week in Tunisia in 1957, when she took first prize and a trip to the Venice Film Festival. After being spotted by several film makers at the screening, she was invited to study at the Experimental Cinematography Center in Rome under Tina Lattanzi. Despite her photogenic appearances, she had a difficult time with her acting jobs (partly due to her difficulties with the Italian language). She left at the end of her first term and decided to return home, earning herself a front page in the popular weekly Epoca newspaper, prompted by her unexpected decision to return to a film career.

Cardinale descended on Tunis, France, but the result of what she later described as a "terrible" friendship with a Frenchman, which began when she was 17 and lasted for about a year, led to her pregnancy. On this find, he wanted her to have an abortion but she refused to have the baby. She solved her problems by signing a seven-year exclusive deal with Franco Cristaldi's production company Vides. Cristaldi dominated her youth, and she and him were married from 1966 to 1975.

Cardinale appeared in Mario Monicelli's internationally recognized criminal comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street in 1958 with Italian actors Vittorio Gassman, Toto Mastroianni, Marcello Mastroianni, and Renato Salvatori. (I soliti ignoti). She portrayed Carmelita, a Sicilian girl who was practically imprisoned in her house by her overpowering brother. The comeback was a huge success, making Cardinale immediately recognizable. Some newspapers were already referring to her as "la fidanzata d'Italia" (Italy's sweetheart). In Claudio Gora's romantic comedy Three Strangers in Rome later this year, she played a central role opposite Yvonne Monlaur.

Although she made it to her seventh month, Cardinale's pregnancy was kept a tight lid. She fell into a state of depression after being plagued by thoughts of suicide. Cristaldi asked her to end her employment when she felt she couldn't conceal her health. He sent her to London for the birth, far away from the press, in reaction to her predicament. He simply stated that she had gone to England to learn English for a film. Cristaldi told Cardinale not to reveal her illness because she will be be betraying the public and jeopardizing her career, which would put an end to her career. He drew up a lengthy American-style contract securing every little detail of her life, denying her of the possibility of acting on her own behalf in order to keep the information private. "I was no longer the master of my own body or thoughts," Cardinale explained. Even talking to a friend about something that could make me appear different from my public image was risky, as if it had been publicized, I may have been in danger. Vides had everything in hand. Cardinale held her secrecy for seven years, not only from the public, but also from her own son Patrick, who grew up in the family with her parents and sister more or less as a brother until Enzo Biagi, a journalist, discovered the truth. In Oggi and L'Europeo, after Cardinale decided to tell him everything, she wrote an article.

In 1959, she appeared alongside Salvatori in the mafia film Vento del sud, and she played the wife of Maurizio Arena in Luigi Zampa's Il magistrato. Cardinale also appeared in his crime film The Facts of Murder, an important role for her in mastering the art of acting while still learning to be at ease in front of the camera. Cardinale regarded it as her first true test as an actress. Maria was then played by Jennifer Craig and Anne Heywood in Ralph Thomas' British film Upstairs and Downstairs. She was often dubbed in early roles as producers feared her voice was too shriese.

Cardinale appeared opposite Marcello Mastroianni in Mauro Bolognini's Golden Leopard-winning drama film Il bell'Antonio in 1960. The film was the start of a fruitful partnership. Cardinale said that Bolognini's films were among the most enjoyable of her career, with her praise of her as "a fantastic producer with rare professional ability, exceptional taste, and culture." A sensitive and sincere friend who is also on my case." Cardinale played manipulative women who lead to perdition in Bolognini's films, thanks to her aesthetic femininity. Marcello Mastroianni, her co-star, fell in love with her co-star during the filming of Il bell'Antonio, but she turned down his proposal because she did not take his love seriously, considering him to be one of those actors who cannot help but fall in love with their co-stars. And after many years, Mastroianni maintained that his feelings were genuine. The genuine empathy between the two characters in the film was able to recreate the tension between the characters. Pauline Bonaparte was first introduced in Abel Gance's French film Napoleone ad Austerlitz, and after appearing opposite Gassman and Salvatori in Audace's sequel to Big Deal on Madonna Street, Audace colpo dei soliti ignoti, alongside Salvatori and Alain Delon in Luchino Visconti's critically acclaimed Rocco and His Brothers, she played Ginetta, the fianad During this period, her leading role in Francesco Maselli's Silver Spoon Set earned the most notice. Francesco Freda said the film opened her way "to great success," noting the "sweetness of her smile" which struck a chord with the public.

With a Suitcase, Cardinale portrayed a sultry nightclub performer and a young mother in Valerio Zurlini's Girl in 1961. Cardinale naturally expressed the trepidation of a teenage mother, identifying fully with Aida's character. Given the complexity of her illness, she needed several months to ban her apprehensions and prepare for the role. Zurlini chose her for such a difficult role against everyone's instructions, since she was not yet considered a "tru" actress, nor was she (yet) one of Italy's most celebrated beauties. During the development, however, he was extremely close and supportive of Cardinale, and a real friendship was formed between the two groups based on a deep mutual understanding. "Zurlini was one of those who truly loved women," Cardinale said, with a heightened sense of feminine sensibility. At a glance, he might have understood me. He told me everything without ever making demands on me. ... "He was really fond of me." Cardinale was lauded by the scholars for her role in Girl with a Suitcase, Dennis Schwartz, who believes she was at her "charming best." In Bolognini's La Viaccia, Cardinale appeared as a prostitute opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo in 1961. Both girls with Suitcase and La Viaccia were on display at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. Cardinale was not considered to be a direct young competitor to Brigitte Bardot at the time, but many newspapers and magazines, including Paris Match, began to believe her to be a credible young rival to Brigitte Bardot. Henri Verneuil's French comedy Les Lions lâchées, and Auguste, in which she had a cameo appearance, were among Cardinale's 1961 appearances.

In the 18th-century set adventure Cartouche, Cardinale appeared opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo as Vénus, making her a leading actress in France. In Bolognini's Senilità, she also played Angiolina, Anthony Franciosa's romantic interest, a woman whose film writer Jacek Klinowski describes as "a spirited and strikingly beautiful twenty-year-old." Cardinale was briefly questioned by writer Alberto Moravia, who concentrated solely on her sexuality and body image in films in 1962, treating her as an object. "I used my body as a mask, as a representation of myself," Cardinale said to him. The interview was published in Esquire under the title "The Next Goddess of Love." Cardinale was pleasantly surprised to learn that the interview inspired the writer to write La dell'amore ("Goddess of Love") the following year, in which one of the characters, with her fine physical appearance and natural curves, closely resembled Cardinale. She appeared in a film based on another Moravia, Time of Indifference book just a few years back.

1963, when she appeared in a variety of leading productions, she had her best and most prolific year of her career. In Federico Fellini's 812, she appeared alongside Burt Lancaster in The Leopard (1963) (Il Gattopardo), portraying a village girl who married a young aristocrat (Alain Delon), as well as a film actress cast by a director (Marco Mastroianni). Both films were critically acclaimed and are often cited by scholars and scholars as one of the best films ever made. She appeared in both films during the same time, often switching from one to the other and experiencing Visconti's strictly planned approach, which contrasted much with Fellini's more relaxed style and his almost complete reliance on improvisation. The setting of Visconti was a very religious atmosphere, but everything else was focusing on the film, far removed from the outside world. Visconti needed silence for his work, but Fellini preferred noise and confusion.

Cardinale's own voice had not been used in her Italian films before this time because it was considered too hurse, and insufficiently Italian. Not until 1981, she was allowed to use her own voice. "I couldn't talk a word when I first saw my first movie." Cardinale explained: I assumed I was on the moon. I couldn't tell what they were talking about when they were talking to me. And I was speaking French; in fact, I was dubbed. And Federico Fellini was the first one to use my voice. I think I had a very strange voice. Cardinale achieved the undisputed status of a top-ranking actress with her portrayal of Angelica in The Leopard and her brief appearance as herself in 812'2.

Cardinale appeared in La raga di Bube, or Bebo's Girl, in which she also used her own voice. In 1965, she received her first Nastro d'Argento for her role in the film. In the Cortina d'Ampezzo-set The Pink Panther, Cardinale appeared in her first American film (although it was shot in Italy) as Princess Dala, a wealthy aristocratic woman who is David Niven's love and jewelry lover. Gale Garnett, who went uncredited, dubbed Cardinale's voice in the film. "You're Italy's happiest invention" after Niven raved about working with the actress, telling her, "you're Italy's happiest invention after spaghetti."

Cardinale appeared alongside Rod Steiger and Shelley Winters in Francesco Maselli's Time of Indifference in 1964. She spent three years in the United States, where she appeared in several Hollywood films. She outlined how she profited from the arrangement, stating that it was an American attempt at a time when they had invited all the popular European actresses to perform in their photographs in the hopes of creating a monopoly. Many people were affected by the event, but she was able to remain independent: "I took care of my own interests, instead of signing an exclusive deal with Universal Studios." I only signed for individual films. Everything worked out fine for me in the end.

She appeared in Henry Hathaway's Hollywood film Circus World (1964) opposite John Wayne and Rita Hayworth's daughter, Hayworth, who appears with her as a mother-daughter circus act. By the end of the decade, she had returned to filmmaking in Italy, taking a salary cut, and turning her back to Hollywood superstardom. "I don't like the star system," Cardinale Said. I'm a normal person. I like to live in Europe. I've been going to Hollywood many times, but I didn't want to sign a contract. "Cardinale never reached the same level of fame as Loren and Gina Lollobrigida," film writer David Simpson says, although she appeared in a number of good films.

She appeared in The Magnificent Cuckold, based on the Belgian play Le Cocu magnifique, in 1964. At the time, she was at the height of her sensuality, but the film brought back bad memories for her as she had no empathy with director Antonio Pietrangeli, while male actor Ugo Tognazzi tried to seduce her. Cardinale def a Thousand Delights) in Visconti, North American, and Of These Thousand Pleasures in the United Kingdom in 1965, playing a Holocaust survivor with an incestuous relationship with her brother. In Universal Pictures' Blindfold, she appeared opposite Rock Hudson, the last film to be directed by Philip Dunne. On location in Ocala, Florida, filming began on February 22, 1965. In the film, Diane Bond doubled for Cardinale. Cardinale became a good friend with Hudson, who was also very protective of her, despite the fact that she was not well known outside of Italy. Cardinale spent time in Hollywood alongside Barbra Streisand, Elliott Gould, and Steve McQueen, but she never seemed to feel at home there.

Cardinale was still the most popular film celebrity in Italy by 1966, much more than Mastroianni and Loren. "The Cardinale appeal is a mash-up of solid simplicity and radiant sensuality," Life said. It inspires men from around the world to imagine her as both a thrilling mistress and wife." However, she began to worry about her future after her success in Hollywood. "If I have to give up the money, I give it up," she confessed in a Life interview in July 1966, as Sophia Loren did, and although she had several more U.S. films lined up, she expressed her fear of being over-glamourized and exploited. I do not want to be a cliché."

In 1966, a photograph of Cardinale was included in Bob Dylan's album Blonde on Blonde (1966), but it was used without Cardinale's permission and removed from later pressings. She appeared in Mark Robson's war film Lost Command for Columbia Pictures opposite Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, and George Segal last year. Quinn expressed his admiration for Cardinale, saying that although he adored Cardinale and Loren equally, "I'm closer to Claudia" who gives the appearance of something larger than life, something unattainable. Claudia isn't able, but she is still within reach, so she's not exactly fair. She appeared in Richard Brooks' Western The Professionals as a Mexican marquessa, uniting her on film with Burt Lancaster in what she considered to be her best American film. She appeared in Una rosa Per tutti (A Rose for Everyone) and opposite Tony Curtis in Alexander Mackendrick's sex farce Don't Make Waves in the ensuing year. Despite occasional amusing moments, Don't Make Waves was generally dismissed by the analysts, and the lack of chemistry with co-star Curtis was highlighted. Leonard Maltin, on the other hand, called the film "a gem."

Cristaldi joined her in the United States at the start of 1967. Though the two were staying in Atlanta, he surprised her by inviting her to their wedding reception, which he had planned without her knowledge. She went along with the wedding but was worried about losing the rights she had to her child Patrick. She also discovered that she was no longer able to make decisions about her own life. In Italy, the marriage was not official.

In 1968, Cardinale starred alongside Franco Nero in The Day of the Owl in a David di Donatello tribute to Best Actress winner. She appeared in the Italian-made criminal comedy A Fine Pair alongside director Francesco Maselli. She appeared alongside Rod Taylor in The Hell with Heroes, as a former prostitute, as well as starring Jill McBain in Sergio Leone's epic Western Once Upon a Time in the West. Such was the impact of her role as Leone's filmmaker, Robert C. Cumbow, who characterized her as "permanently engraved in cinematic history" and explained how Jill's transition was aided by her sex-goddess appearance, from tart to icon of America, from harlot to harlot, with a heart of gold. Cardinale appeared in the Luigi Magni's Nell'anno del Signore in 1969, based on the true story of two carbonaris executed in papal Rome. In Mikhail Kalatozov's The Red Tent, based on the mission to save Umberto Nobile and the other survivors of the Airship Italia's disaster, he was followed by a stint as a telephone operator, anzi vermute, and as a nurse opposite Sean Connery and Peter Finch.

In 1970, Cardinale appeared opposite Peter McEnery and Eli Wallach in Jerzy Skolimowski's comedy film The Adventures of Gerard, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard. She formed a duo with Brigitte Bardot in French Western-comedy The Legend of French King in 1971 and appeared as a prostitute opposite Alberto Sordi in Luigi Zampa's comedy A Girl in Australia. The film, which was shot on location in February and March 1971, received the Best Actress award at the David di Donatello Awards the following year. Cardinale appeared in Marco Ferreri's L'udienza, the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival, in 1972. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michel Constantine also appeared in La Scolumoune. Cardinale starred in One Russian Summer (1973), a historical drama film with "poliziotteschi" and "noir" elements, after a role as a Russian aristocrat opposite Oliver Reed in One Russian Summer (1973), set in pre-revolutionary Russia. Pasquale Squitieri, the Cardinale, and her husband arrived on set for the first time, and she soon became her husband.

In 1975, Cardinale played the daughter of a political exile (Adolfo Celi) in Mauro Bolognini's Libera, My Love, a character whose "increasingly incensed by Italy's fascist government and making a series of brave and personal gestures against it." Later this year, Monica Vitti appeared on The Immortal Bachelor with Vittorio Gassman and Qui comincia l'avventura. Cardinale and Vitti's biographer narrated how in a predominantly masculine cast, they stood out as the female pair.

Cardinale appeared in the sex comedy Il comune senso del pudore, directed and written by Alberto Sordi, who also co-starred. Robert Powell appeared as Jesus, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, and Ernest Borgnine as Cornelius the Centurion in the Jesus of Nazareth miniseries. Cardinale appeared in her husband's Il prefetto di ferro, which tells the tale of Cesare Mori (Giuliano Gemma), an Italian prefect who, before and during the Fascist period, was best known as "the Iron Prefect." In nome del Papa Re, the film based the 1978 David di Donatello award for Best Film. Cardinale appeared in Damiano Damiani's political drama Goodbye & Amen – L'uomo della CIA – and then appeared alongside Gemma in her husband's gangster portrait, Corleone, set in 1950s Sicily. L'arma, Cardinale portrayed Eleana, a Greek "brave brothel madame" and the girlfriend of Telly Savalas in George P. Cosmatos' adventure war film Escape to Athena (1979). The film, shot on location in Rhodes, was poorly received; as of July 2015, Rotten Tomatoes has a 32% "rotten" rating.

Cardinale played Marcello Mastroianni in Si salvi chi vuole (1980) and a smaller part in Peter Zinner's The Salamander opposite Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn and Christopher Lee, a film that also reunited her with Burt Lancaster. The Skin was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. Cardinale appeared in Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo in 1982, playing a spirited brothel owner who funded Klaus Kinski's purchase of an old steamship in South America. The film, which was inspired by the tale of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fermn Fitzcarrald, was shot on location in Brazil and Peru. The film was critically acclaimed, with Vincent Canby of The New York Times describing Kinski and Cardinale's "intelligent, fascinating film" and a "stunning spectacle" in comparison to Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart's The African Queen, a John Huston film. He pointed out that although Cardinale's screen time in the film was unfortunately not extensive, she set the film's comedic tone; she praised the way she turned Kinski, who is known for his temperament and portrayals of megalomaniacs and criminals, into a "truly charming screen presence," adding a new dimension to his acting career. Cardinale appeared in Le Cadeau, the sex farce, later this year, a role that, according to biographers Lancia and Minelli, was played with a "mature charm and expressiveness."

Cardinale appeared in the French-Canadian film Le Ruffian in 1983, and in the Waris Hussein miniseries Princess Daisy, alongside Lino Ventura and Bernard Giraudeau. In 1984, she played Marcello Mastroianni in a Marco Bellocchio production of Henry IV, based on the Luigi Pirandello play of the same name. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Claretta (1984), a Squitieri film festival, was entered into the competition. Claretta Petacci's solid results earned her the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress. Cardinale appeared in Alberto Bevilacqua's La donna delle meraviglie in 1985, opposite Ben Gazzara and Lina Sastri. It was part of the 1985 Venice International Film Festival competition.

Cardinale was instrumental in the production of two television films in 1986. Cardinale's La storia depicted a widow raising a son during World War II. Enrico Lancia and Roberto Poppi praised her for her "light comedic touch" in her husband's Naso di Cane miniseries. In Diane Kurys' film A Man in Love (Un homme amoureux), Kurys' first English-language film, Cardinale starred opposite Peter Coyote, Greta Scacchi, and Jamie Lee Curtis in 1987. It was entered into the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. Critics applauded Cardinale's performance as Scacchi's cancer-plagued mother, as Desson Howe of The Washington Post praised the "warm and radiant" elements she brought to the role, as well as Hal Hinson of The Washington Post, who also wrote The Washington Post, comparing Scacchi's "the same sensuality that Cardinale brought to her earlier roles. In the two-part film La Révolution française in 1989, Cardinale portrayed Yolande de Polastron, a favorite of Marie Antoinette's, after a role in the comedy Blu elettrico (1988). The 360-minute Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron film, which starred Klaus Maria Brandauer, Jane Seymour, and Peter Ustinov, was made to celebrate the French Revolution's bicentennial anniversary.

Cardinale appeared in Squitieri's Atto di dolore in 1990 and appeared in La battaglia dei tre tamburi di fuoco, a Moroccan-Italian film. Cardinale appeared in Henri Verneuil's Mayrig (meaning "mother"), a film about an Armenian family's emigration to Marseilles, France, after the Armenian genocide of 1915, starring Richard Berry and Omar Sharif. Such was the success of the film that Verneuil produced a sequel the following year, 588 rue Paradis, also starring the cast. Cardinale's role as the mother had been lauded by critics; the Armenian General Benevolent Union of America praised the "flawless performance of these intrepid actors, especially Claudia Cardinale." Cardinale won the Leone d'oro carriera award at the Venice Film Festival in 1993, where she was recognized alongside Roman Polanski, Robert De Niro, and Steven Spielberg. The Cardinals decided to reunite with Blake Edwards, Herbert Lomo, and Burt Kwouk on the 30th anniversary of The Pink Panther's birth by making Son of the Pink Panther. Edward's last film was a critical and commercial failure, with critics raving about the "painfully unfunny script" and Roberto Benigni's portrayal as Clouseau, which earned him the Razzie Award for Worst New Star. According to 34 reviews, it has a rating of just 6% on Rotten Tomatoes as of July 2015. Cardinale incarnate qu'à ça, qui puis?

Cardinale appeared in the British-Italian television drama miniseries Nostromo, directed by Alastair Reid and produced by Fernando Ghia of Pixit Productions, a co-production with Radiotelevisione Italiana, Televisión Espagnola, and WGBH Boston in 1997. It is described as "an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's epic tale Nostromo of political upheaval, greed, and romance in turn-of-the-20th-century South America." In a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series, Cardinale and the cast were nominated for an ALMA Award for Outstanding Latino/a Cast. Cardinale appeared in the films Sous les pieds des femmes and her husband's Stupor Mundi, in which she portrayed Constance of Aragon. In 1998, Cardinale depicted Lola Naymark's mother, a wealthy baroness who leaves her hotel to her daughter to care for during her absence. In Cristaldi's historical film Li chiamarono briganti! the following year, Cardinale played the pesant mother of two children who are members of Carmine Crocco's (Enrico Lo Verso's) army during the Garibaldi period. The film was later canceled due to poor reception, and the manufacturers have since refused to assign the broadcasting rights.

Cardinale debuted in 2000, starring in Maurizio Scaparro's stage production of La Venexiana, which was adapted by René de Ceccatty at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris. Élisabeth - Ils sont tous nos enfants, she appeared in her husband's television film. Cardinale returned to Italy two years later, appearing in Luigi Pirandello's Come tu vuoi, which Squitieri supervised, in Luigi Pirandello's Come tu mi vuoi. In Roger Ebert's thriller film And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen, she appeared as a "faded countess" opposite Jeremy Irons, portraying a woman who spends her time in Fez, Morocco, with handsome gigolos. At the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, the film was out of competition. And now... Lady and Gentlemen received mixed responses; A. O. Scott of The New York Times dismissed it as "sublimely absurd," but Michel Legrand's "impeccable CinemaScope compositions" and his "lush, suave score" were praised.

Cardinale appeared in a Philippe Adrien stage production of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth in 2005, and she appeared in another Williams play, The Glass Menagerie, directed by Andrea Liberovici, in which she played Amanda. Cardinale appeared in the Aline Issermann comedy film Cherche fiancé tous frais payés, opposite Alexandra Lamy and Bruno Salomone, in a role that Patrick Besson described as "atrocious." After playing a role in Hold-Up à l'italienne (2008), Cardinale starred in The String, a critically acclaimed film starring a Tunisian mother who has a tense friendship with her French-educated gay son. Cinemaqueer.com's Michael D. Klemm reflected on how the film destroyed many of the taboos with interracial sexuality and homosexuality. To Harold and Maude (1971), he lauded Cardinale's "terrible" acting and portrayal of the "overbearing" mother, likening one scene in which she "brings home a nice girl for Malik (Antonin Stahly) to meet.

In 2010, Cardinale received the Golden Orange Best Actress Award at the 47th Antalya "Golden Orange" International Film Festival for her appearance as an elderly Italian woman taking in a young Turkish exchange student in Signora Enrica. In Istanbul and Rimini, the Turkish-Italian co-production was shot in a variety of locations.

In the final feature film directed by Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, Gebo, and the Shadow, Cardinale appeared opposite Jeanne Moreau and Michael Lonsdale in 2012. Rotten Tomatoes is one of the few films to have received a 99% score, and it was shown at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, critically acclaimed. The Hollywood Reporter characterized it as a "team of superb older actors who make up the majority of the dramatis personae." The Artist and the Model, another excellent film in which Cardinale appeared, was released in 2012. She appeared alongside Jean Rochefort in this film. Cardinale appeared alongside supporting actress Patricia Black and Chloé Cunha in Nadia Szold's Joy de V., and she appeared in Ernst Gossner's war drama The Silent Mountain, a love story set in the Dolomite Mountains at the outbreak of World War I between Italy and Austria-Hungary in 1915. Gossner called her "a brilliant spirit on the set" and that Cardinale told the production team "legendary tales" about Marcello Mastroianni. In the British period drama Effie Gray, which was written by Emma Thompson and featured Dakota Fanning in the lead role, Cardinale portrayed a "sympathetic Italian chaperone" viscountess. In an interview with Cardinale, she talked to Effie Gray: "I still work, it's 142 movies now." Normally, when you are old, you don't work any more, but I do work, which is good. I've been very lucky that I've worked with many talented directors, including Fellini, Visconti, Blake Edwards, and many others..."

In the Almera Western Film Festival, she received the Tabernas de Cine award on October 11, 2018.

Cardinale headlined the Swiss miniseries Bulle in 2020. She appeared in the Netflix film Rogue City later this year. It was the second most viewed film on the website in its debut weekend.

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