At the age of 87, Claudia Cardinale, a celebrated Italian actress best known for her parts in The Leopard and 8½, passed away. She died on Tuesday at her home in Nemours, France, with her children by her side.

Claudia Cardinale’s Jawdropping Stills

On April 15, 1938, she was born Claude Joséphine Rose Cardin in La Goulette, Tunisia, to a French mother and a Sicilian father. In 1957, Cardinale was crowned the most attractive Italian woman in Tunis after winning a beauty pageant at the age of 17.

She attended the Venice Film Festival thanks to the competition, which aided in the beginning of her film career.