Anita Ekberg

Anita Ekberg was a Swedish-born actress and model best known for her role as Sylvia in Federico Fellini’s *La dolce vita* (1960).

Anita Ekberg was a Swedish-born actress and model best known for her role as Sylvia in Federico Fellini’s *La dolce vita* (1960). Born Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg in Malmö, she became an international screen presence in the 1950s and 1960s and later lived much of her life in Italy. She died in 2015 at age 83.

Early life and modelling

Ekberg was born in Malmö and was the sixth of eight children. She began modelling as a teenager and gained early public attention through beauty pageants.

Film career

She appeared in films over several decades, with work in Hollywood and later primarily in Italy. Her performance in *La dolce vita* made her an international star and enduring screen icon.

Later life and death

Ekberg spent much of her later life in Italy and retired from acting in 2002. She died in Rocca di Papa in 2015 at the age of 83.

Public image and legacy

Ekberg was widely associated with glamour and sex-symbol status in the 1950s and 1960s. Her Trevi Fountain scene in *La dolce vita* became one of cinema’s most recognized images.