![]() She then played the Palmyrene Empress Queen Zenobia in the sword and sandal epic "Sheba and the Gladiator" (1959), an effort most notable for Ekberg's many elaborate costume changes. With each project growing more tawdry than the last, Ekberg next appeared as a traumatized exotic dancer in the murder mystery "Screaming Mimi" (1958), co-starring famed burlesque performer, Gypsy Rose Lee. Told entirely in flashback, it was the story of a woman (Ekberg) whose troubled marriage to her jealous husband (Sterling Hayden) ends in violence and murder. That same year, she landed the title role in the Western drama "Valerie" (157). A case in point was her reteaming with Mature for the crime thriller "Pickup Alley" (1957), where she played a woman caught up with an international drug smuggler (Trevor Howard). Ekberg's first substantially three-dimensional character came with her portrayal of the self-absorbed Princess Helene Kuragina in King Vidor's "War and Peace" (1956), alongside cinematic luminaries like Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda.ĭespite her serviceable performance in the big-budget epic, Ekberg's roles, while more prominent, were typically in low-profile genre pictures. After appearing in the Victor Mature Afghan adventure "Zarak" (1956), she had achieved enough fame to be cast as a fictionalized version of herself in "Hollywood or Bust" (1956), which reunited her with the team of Martin and Lewis. Soon after, she was landing considerably more prominent roles in such films as the John Wayne-Lauren Bacall action-adventure "Blood Alley" (1955) and the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy "Artists and Models" (1955), in which she played, not surprisingly, a gorgeous model. Strong willed even then, Ekberg flatly declined his offer and remained with Universal, where she made several uncredited appearances in minor films, in addition to her official feature debut in the Abbott and Costello comedy "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" (1953).Įkberg, who had already engaged in several brazen publicity stunts, gained considerable exposure nationwide after she replaced Marilyn Monroe in Bob Hope's USO show in 1954. ![]() In Hollywood, she quickly drew the attention of industrialist, movie mogul and notorious womanizer, Howard Hughes, who offered her a contract at his RKO studio if she would have cosmetic work done to her eyes and teeth, in addition to changing her last name. Although she would not win the broader competition, it did lead to more modeling work in the States and a modest contract with Universal Pictures. Urged by her mother, she continued on to the Miss Universe pageant, held in Atlantic City, NJ, that same year. Winning in the local competition took the statuesque blonde on to the Miss Sweden contest in 1950, which she also won. ![]() ![]() Already working as a fashion model as a teen, she later entered the Miss Malmö beauty pageant. 29, 1931 in Malmö, Sweden, she was the oldest girl of eight children. Anita Ekberg died in her adopted home of Italy on January 11, 2015.īorn Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg on Sept. Although her performance in "La Dolce Vita" far outshone any of Ekberg's performances before or after, the image of her cavorting with Mastroianni in Rome's historic Trevi Fountain would be more than enough to ensure her a place in the pantheon of film's greatest sex symbols for all time. After a few more mainstream efforts like "4 for Texas" (1963), Ekberg settled for decades of forgettable European-produced B-movies until she appeared as herself in the Fellini reminiscence "Intervista" (1987). Sub-par genre pictures with titles like "Sheba and the Gladiator" (1959) were fast becoming Ekberg's stock-in-trade before Fellini cast the stunning actress in "La Dolce Vita," instantly making her co-star Marcello Mastroianni an international superstar, but oddly, doing little to advance her career. Often eclipsing her work on screen, however, were the alleged romantic liaisons with many of Hollywood's most powerful leading men, including Tyrone Power, Gary Cooper and Frank Sinatra. Coming to America after winning the Miss Sweden beauty competition in 1950, Ekberg soon secured herself a contract with Universal Pictures and began a string of appearances in such features as "Blood Alley" (1955), "Hollywood or Bust" (1956) and the historical epic "War and Peace" (1956). Blonde and buxom to a physics-defying degree, Swedish born actress Anita Ekberg became the very definition of cinematic sex goddess with her iconic performance in Italian director Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" (1960).
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