Claudia Cardinale, the Tunisian-born Italian star of The Leopard, 8 1/2 and Pink Panther, has died at the age of 87.

She had a six-decade long career, rising to fame during the golden age of Italian cinema, and was directed by greats such as Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti.

The actress died at Nemours in France in the company of her children, according to her agent Laurent Savry.

"She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Savry told AFP news agency.

Born in Tunisia to Sicilian parents in April 1938, Cardinale won a beauty contest at 16 that saw her declared "the most beautiful Italian woman in Tunis".

The prize was a trip to the Venice film festival, where she was approached by directors and producers to become involved in filmmaking.

She later described her reluctance to abandon her hopes of becoming a teacher to "give this cinema thing a go", in her father's words.

Her early career was marked by challenges. She was picking up small roles as a teenager when she was raped by a man she did not know.

When she learned that she was seven months pregnant while filming, a mentor convinced her to give birth in secret abroad in London.

For several years, she introduced her son, Patrick, to people as her younger brother. She told French newspaper Le Monde in 2017 that he was the reason for her film career, because she wanted to "earn a living and be independent".

Because she had grown up speaking French, Arabic, and her parents' Sicilian dialect, her accent was seen as unacceptable, and her voice was dubbed by other Italian actors.

She shot to fame in 1963 when she appeared in Fellini's Oscar-winning 8 1/2 and the epic period drama The Leopard, which became a Visconti classic.

While shooting the films simultaneously, Cardinale commuted between Sicily and Rome, and said she had to dye her hair once a week.

"Visconti wanted me brunette with long hair. Fellini wanted me blonde," Cardinale said.

She worked in Hollywood in the 1960s, starring in Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther and Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In the West, and appearing with actors including Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson.

During her time in the US, Cardinale had spoken of pretending to be in a relationship with the actor Rock Hudson to try to keep his homosexuality a secret.

"At that time in America if it was known that you were gay you could not work in Hollywood," she told Variety in 2017.

Critics praised her as the "embodiment of postwar European glamour".

Reflecting on her career later, Cardinale recalled: "The best compliment I ever got was from actor David Niven while filming The Pink Panther.

"He said: 'Claudia, along with spaghetti, you're Italy's greatest invention.'"

After separating from film producer Franco Cristaldi in the early 70s, she began a life-long relationship with Neapolitan director Pasquale Squitieri, with whom she had a daughter, also named Claudia.

She performed into her 80s, appearing in the Swiss TV Series Bulle in 2020.

In 2000 Cardinale was named Unesco Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her advocacy for women's rights.

In 2002, she was awarded a lifetime achievement at the Berlin Film Festival.

"I've lived more than 150 lives: prostitute, saint, romantic, every kind of woman, and that is marvellous to have this opportunity to change yourself," she said.

Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called her "one of the greatest Italian actresses of all time", embodying "Italian grace".