• She has 2 children. A son born in 1959 and a daughter.
• In 1957, she won a beauty contest, the Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunis. She won a free trip to Venice and was offered movie roles by producers. Initially she refused all of the roles, but then accepted them.
• She signed a contract forbidding her to cut her hair, marry or gain weight. Due to this contract, she told everyone that her new born son (out of wedlock) was her baby brother. She did not reveal to the child that he was her son, until he was 19 years old.

Born in Tunisia on April 15, 1939, Cardinale first attracted attention in 1957 after winning the "Most Beautiful Girl in Tunisia" contest; her prize was a trip to the Venice Film Festival, inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. After studying at Rome's Centro Sperimentale film school, she made her screen debut in 1958's Goha, followed by a larger role in Mario Monicelli's classic caper comedy I Soliti Ignoti that same year. In 1959 she was featured in Pietro Germi's Un Maledetto Imbroglio.

Claudia Cardinale has recently starred in the movies Estrenando sue?os (2003), and And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen (2002) as Madame Falconnetti. Claudia Cardinale has also featured in many movies such as Elisabeth (2000), Un caf?... l'addition (1999), and Li chiamarono... briganti! (1999). Some of Claudia Cardinale's early movie break throughs were in Goha (1958) playing the role of Taj, Soliti ignoti, I (1958) as Carmela, Tre straniere a Roma (1958) as Marisa, and Prima notte, La (1958) as Angelica. Claudia Cardinale has recently starred in the television shows Mia, Liebe meines Lebens (1998) playing the role of Mary O, and Deserto di fuoco (1997) as Leila. Claudia Cardinale has also featured in many television shows such as Nostromo (1996), 10-07: L'affaire Zeus (1995), and Ren? L?vesque (1994). Some of Claudia Cardinale's early television show break throughs were in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) playing the role of The Adulteress, Mayrig (1993) as Araxi , and Ren? L?vesque (1994) as Jacqueline.

Cardinale continued dividing her time between Hollywood and Europe for the remainder of the decade, appearing in diverse projects ranging from the 1965 Visconti war drama Vaghe Stelle dell'Orsa to the 1966 Richard Brooks Western The Professionals. In 1968, she also co-starred in the Sergio Leone classic Once Upon a Time in the West. However, with the 1969 Mikhail Kalatozov adventure La Tenda Rossa, Cardinale began appearing almost exclusively in European films, few of which were distributed in English-language markets. As a result, she was largely a memory when she resurfaced in the 1976 hit The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Cardinale's next high-profile international project was the 1982 Werner Herzog art-house hit Fitzcarraldo. She followed it with another miniseries, 1983's Princess Daisy, then again remained in Europe prior to the 1993 flop Son of the Pink.