End of an Era: Claudia Cardinale, The Leopard and 8 1/2 Icon, Dies

Claudia Cardinale, one of the faces you think of when you think classic European cinema, has died. She was 87. If you know her from Fellini's '8 1/2' or Blake Edwards' 'The Pink Panther,' you know the range: high-art hall-of-fame and pop-icon mischief, both nailed.

The news

Cardinale died in Nemours, France, with her children at her side, according to her agent Laurent Savry. Born in Tunisia to Sicilian parents in 1938, she built a career that hopped borders and genres with ridiculous ease.

"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Savry said.

From Tunis to the Venice spotlight

The origin story is very old-Hollywood-but-in-Italy. At 16, Cardinale won a local contest that literally named her the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis. The prize sent her to the Venice Film Festival, where producers and directors immediately tried to sign her. That part sounds dreamy; the next part did not. As a teenager she became pregnant, gave birth in secret, and for a time introduced her son publicly as her younger brother. It is one of those inside-baseball details that reminds you how much pressure there was (and is) on actresses at the start of their careers.

Breakthroughs and the global jump

Her international breakout was Federico Fellini's Oscar-winning '8 1/2,' a career rocket that still shows up on greatest-of-all-time lists. From there, she bounced between Italian stunners and Hollywood hits with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what the camera saw. In the U.S., she became part of the 'The Pink Panther,' which turned into one of those franchises everybody knows even if they have never actually watched the originals.

The work, at a glance

• Italian run-up: 'Rocco and His Brothers' (1960), 'Girl with a Suitcase' (1961), 'Cartouche' (1962), 'The Leopard' (1963)
• Breakout: Fellini's '8 1/2' (Oscar-winning)
• Hollywood swing: 'The Pink Panther', then 'Blindfold' (1965), 'Lost Command' (1966), 'The Professionals' (1966)
• Return to Europe: A long string of Italian and French films that kept critics and audiences paying attention

Later years and legacy

Cardinale stayed busy on screens in Italy and France for decades and never really faded from view. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times Magazine put her on its list of the 50 most beautiful women in film history, which feels both obvious and still somehow not enough credit for the presence she had.

There are actors who feel like they belong to one country or one movement. Cardinale belonged to the movies, full stop. That is the legacy.