Anita Ekberg was a Swedish actress, who appeared in several European as well as American films. She is mostly known for her role in the comedy drama film ‘La Dolce Vita’. The film won an Oscar and the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960, and was also a commercial and critical success. Born in Skåne, Sweden, she worked as a fashion model prior to her acting career.
She eventually won the Miss Sweden contest. She moved to the US, and began appearing in multiple movies playing minor roles. Her first credited role was in the film ‘Abbott and Costello Go to Mars’, where she played a Venusian guard. She soon won the Golden Globe award in the ‘Most Promising Newcomer’, category after appearing in the film ‘Blood Alley’.
Throughout her career, she appeared in many other films such as the American-Italian war drama film ‘War and Peace’, the Western film ‘Valerie’, the British adventure crime film ‘The Man Inside’, and the French-Italian drama ‘The Dam on the Yellow River’. She passed away in 2015, at the age of 83.
Anita Ekberg soon started appearing in movies, mostly in minor roles. Her first credited role was in the sci-fi comedy film ‘Abbott and Costello Go to Mars’, where she played the minor role of a Venusian Guard.
In 1955, she was seen in the adventure film ‘Blood Alley’, where she had a supporting role. The film won her the Golden Globe Award in the category of ‘Most Promising Newcomer’.
She was next seen in several films, over the years, such as ‘War and Peace’ (1956), ‘Man in the Vault’, (1956), ‘Interpol’ (1957), and ‘The Man Inside’ (1958). Her popularity reached new heights after she played a main role in the 1960 Italian comedy-drama film ‘La Dolce Vita’, which was directed and co-written by Federico Fellini. The film won the Golden Palm at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for four Oscars, out of which it won one for ‘Best Costume Design’.
In 1960, she was also seen in the film ‘The Dam on the Yellow River’. She was next seen in the films ‘Le tre eccetera del colonnello’ and ‘Anonima cocottes’, the same year.
In 1961, he was seen in the films ‘A porte chiuse’, and ‘The Mongols’. Over the years, she appeared in many films, some of them including ‘4 for Texas’ (1963), ‘The Alphabet Murders’ (1965), ‘Woman Times Seven’ (1967), ‘Death Knocks Twice’ (1969), ‘Northeast of Seoul’ (1972) and ‘Killer Nun’ (1979).
She also appeared in a television film in 1979, titled ‘Gold of the Amazon Women’. Some of the later works in her career include ‘Ambrogio’ (1992), ‘Bambola’ (1996) and ‘Le nain rouge’, (1998).
One of Anita Ekberg’s major works is the 1955 American adventure film ‘Blood Alley’, which was directed by William A Wellman. The story takes place during the Cold War, and revolves around an American military officer Captain Tom Wilder, who gets imprisoned by the Chinese communists for two years. The film was not too successful commercially, and earned $ 2.2 million on a budget of $ 2 million. Ekberg played a Chinese villager named Wei Ling, for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer.
Ekberg’s most important work is ‘La Dolce Vita’, an Italian comedy-drama film which released in 1960. Directed and co-written by Federico Fellini, the film was about a journalist, who wrote for gossip magazines, and is on a search for love and happiness.
The film won the Golden Palm at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for four Oscars as well, winning one in the ‘Best Costume Category’. It was a critical and commercial success, and is also considered one of the best films ever made..
Anita Ekberg appeared in many other movies in her career, one of them including ‘The Alphabet Murders’, a British detective film, which released in 1965. The film was directed by Frank Tashlin. It was based on the novel ‘The A.B.C. Murders’, by renowned British writer Agatha Christie. The film revolves around the murder of a clown named Albert Aachen. Ekberg played the role of a woman named Amanda Beatrice, who becomes the main focus on the investigation.
10 best movies
10.Zarak
Anita Ekberg, Michael Wilding
Zarak is a 1957 British Warwick Films CinemaScope action film based on the 1949 book The Story of Zarak Khan by A.J. Bevan. It was directed by Terence Young with assistance from..
Sign of Rome
Anita Ekberg, Paul Muller
Nel Segno di Roma is a 1959 historical drama film loosely pertaining to the Palmyrene Empire and its re-annexation back into the Roman Empire. Notable only for its superlative..
8.War and Peace
Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda
This film is the first English-language film version of the novel by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian production, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and..
7.Intervista
Anita Ekberg, Marcello Mastroianni
Intervista is a 1987 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini..
6.Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
Anita Ekberg, Lou Costello
Abbott and Costello Go To Mars is a 1953 American science fiction comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film follows the..
5.Interpol
Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard
Interpol known in the USA as Pickup Alley is a 1957 British Warwick Films crime film shot in CinemaScope starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sid
4.Call Me Bwana
Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer
Call Me Bwana is a 1963 farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg, and directed by Gordon Douglas. It is largely set in Africa. It is the only film made by Eon Productions not about..
3.Screaming Mimi
Anita Ekberg, Gypsy Rose Lee
Screaming Mimi is a 1958 film noir directed by Gerd Oswald, and based on the novel by pulp novelist Fredric Brown. The film features Anita Ekberg, Philip Carey, Gypsy Rose Lee, among..
2.Boccaccio ’70
Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg
Boccaccio ’70 is a 1962 Italian anthology film directed by Mario Monicelli, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica, from an idea by Cesare Zavattini. It is an anthology of..
La Dolce Vita
Nico, Anita Ekberg
La Dolce Vita is a 1960 Italian comedy-drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. The film follows Marcello Rubini, a journalist writing for gossip magazines, over seven days and..
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