Trivia of Anita Ekberg

Trivia of Anita Ekberg (29 September 1931 - 11 January 2015)

*While in her teens, Anita worked as a fashion model and even entered the Miss Malmö competition in 1950 at her mother’s urging. This ultimately led to the Miss Sweden contest which she actually won. Because of this achievement, she went on to the U.S. to compete for the 1951 Miss Universe title despite speaking very little English. She however did not win this pageant.Even though Ekberg did not win the Miss Universe pageant, as one of six finalists, she did manage to earn a contract with Universal Studios. While there, she received lessons in drama, horseback riding, dancing and even fencing.

*After trying her hand at so many modelling jobs, Anita finally got a break in the film industry by appearing as a guest star in a TV series that was a bit short-lived, Casablanca and Private Secretary.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, Anita got a small part in the film, Blood Alley, which was starring John Wayne and Lauren Becall. In this film, Anita got her first fundamental speaking role in a feature and won her the Golden Globe Award in the category of ‘Most Promising Newcomer’.

*The greatest opportunity of all for Ekberg was in 1956 when Paramount cast her in a film that was known as ‘War and Peace.’This film was shot in Rome and she had the opportunity of playing alongside very prominent icons like Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, and Audrey Hepburn.The film actually gave her a good edge and visibility and thus ended up being referred to as “Paramount’s Marilyn Monroe.”

*Her popularity reached new heights after she played a main role Sylvia Rank 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’.But Ekberg became a little bit boring after La Dolce Vita because every producer or director in Italy, England and America wanted her to recreate the same role.Originally the producer of La Dolce Vita want to Paul Newman in the cast as lead actor.

*She proud of her voluptuous physique and well-publicized romances with Hollywood's leading men like Frank Sinatra, Tyrone Power, Yul Brynner, Rod Taylor, and Errol Flynn.Additionally, Ekberg participated in publicity stunts. She once admitted that an incident in which her dress burst open in the lobby of London's Berkeley Hotel was prearranged with a photographer.

*Ekberg did not live in Sweden after the early 1950s, and rarely visited the country. In 2005, she appeared on the popular radio program Sommar, talking about her life. She stated in an interview that she would not move back to Sweden but would be buried there. Ekberg died on 11 January 2015 in Rome. Her body was cremated and her remains were buried at the cemetery of Skanör Church in Sweden, in accordance with her wishes to be buried in her land of birth.