Italian movie star Claudia Cardinale, known for her role in Mayrig, passes away

Legendary Italian actress Claudia Cardinale died on September 23 at the age of 87. She passed away in Nemours, near Paris, France, where she had lived in recent years.

In 1991, Cardinale starred in Mayrig, a film by French director of Armenian descent Henri Verneuil. The movie tells the story of an Armenian family that fled to Marseille to escape the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

In 2010, the actress visited Armenia as part of the international film festival Golden Apricot, which was dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 90th birthday of Verneuil.

“She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste,” said her agent Laurent Savry.

Cardinale’s most celebrated roles include The Leopard, 8½, Rocco and His Brothers, and Once Upon a Time in the West.