Anita Ekberg, London, 1955
Photo Bob Haswell
Anita Ekberg was born 90 years ago today.
A Swedish-Italian actress, model and sex symbol, Ekberg played the role of Sylvia in the Federico Fellini film, La Dolce Vita in 1960.
Ekberg worked primarily in Italy, of which she became a permanent resident in 1964. In her teens, she was a fashion model. Ekberg entered the Miss Malmö competition in 1950 at her mother's urging, leading to the Miss Sweden contest which she won.
She consequently went to the United States to compete for the Miss Universe 1951 title despite speaking little English. Although she did not win the Miss Universe pageant, as one of six finalists she did earn a starlet's contract with Universal Studios, as was the practice at the time.
As a starlet at Universal, she received lessons in drama, elocution, dancing, horseriding and fencing. She appeared briefly in the 1953 Universal films, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, and The Golden Blade.
Ekberg skipped many of her drama lessons, restricting herself to riding horses in the Hollywood Hills. The combination of her voluptuous physique and colorful private life (such as her well-publicized romances with Hollywood's leading men, such as Frank Sinatra, Tyrone Power, Yul Brynner, Rod Taylor and Errol Flynn) appealed to the gossip magazines.
She soon became a major 1950s pin-up, appearing in men's magazines like Playboy. Additionally, she participated in publicity stunts and once admitted that an incident where her dress burst open in the lobby of London's Berkeley Hotel was prearranged with a photographer.
Federico Fellini gave Ekberg her best known role in La Dolce Vita (1960), performing as Sylvia Rank, the unattainable "dream woman" of the character played by Marcello Mastroianni. The film features a scene of her cavorting in Rome's Trevi Fountain alongside Mastroianni, which has been called "one of cinema's most iconic scenes.”
Ekberg died on January 11, 2015 at the age of 83 in Italy.