The one-time Miss Sweden famous for her sultry role in Federico Fellini's film died after being hospitalized since the holidays.
- Jan 12, 2015
AceShowbiz - Anita Ekberg, a Swedish actress who became a sex symbol in 1950s, passed away Sunday morning, January 11 in Rocca di Papa, Italy. She died of complications from a longtime illness after being hospitalized since the holidays. She was 83.
She had been in a wheelchair for several years after breaking her hip in an incident that involved one of her dogs, Great Danes. She briefly stayed in a care home after her villa was nearly destroyed in a fire. Her funeral will be held in Rome this week, her body will be cremated, and her ashes sent to Sweden, her lawyer Patrizia Ubaldi told Reuters.
Ekberg traveled to America to take part in 1951 Miss Universe pageant after winning Miss Sweden. Although she didn't win and speak English very well, she caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts and went on to appear in a number of movies including "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" and "War and Peace".
She also modeled for Playboy and starred on the 1955 ABC series "Casablanca". She won a Golden Globe Award as Most Promising Newcomer for her performance as Chinese woman Wei Ling in "Blood Alley", but her biggest role was perhaps in Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" ("The Good Life").
A scene where she seductively coaxed her co-star Marcello Mastroianni into swimming with her in the Trevi Fountain became one of the most iconic scenes in Hollywood. The movie won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival back then and was later restored by Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation.
Ekberg was married to British actor Anthony Steel from 1956 to 1959. Four years later, she married actor Rik Van Nutter, who played agent Felix Leiter in the James Bond film "Thunderball", but they got divorced in 1975. She resided in Rome for many years after her acting career dimmed.
