Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni was an Italian film actor who played the protagonist in four of Fellini's films: La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, City of Women, and Ginger and Fred. Since several of Fellini's protagonists were largely autobiographical, many see Mastroianni as a kind of alter ego of Fellini's.
Born in Fontana Liri, a small village near Rome, Mastroianni was interned into and escaped from a German prison camp during World War II. He met Fellini while studying acting at the University of Rome, and the pair became friends. Years later, Fellini cast him in the role of Marcello Rubini, launching his career as an acclaimed film actor.
Like his roles in various Fellini films, Mastroianni was notorious for his affairs with women like Catherine Deneuve, Faye Dunaway, Anouk Aimee, and Claudia Cardinale (the latter two having played his lovers in 8 1/2).
Mastroianni was nominated for the Oscar for best actor three times and won the award for best actor at Cannes Film Festival twice. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1996 at the age of 72.
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is a Tunisian Italian actress.
Born in Tunis, she won a prize for "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia," which included a trip to Italy, where she earned several film contracts. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times Magazine listed Cardinale among the 50 most beautiful women in film history.
She acted in such acclaimed Italian films as The Leopard and 8 1/2, and became well-known in American film after acting in The Pink Panther and Once Upon a Time in the West. She also played Klaus Kinski's love interest in Werner Herzog's epic Fitzcarraldo.
Cardinale has also worked as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for the Defense of Women's Rights.
Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée is a French actress who performed in Fellini's La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, the former having launched her to fame as an actress in European and American film.
Born in Paris, Aimée was the daughter of actor Henri Murray and actress Geneviève Sorya.
In 1966, Aimée was nominated for the Oscar and won the Golden Globe for best actress. She also won the award for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.
Sandra Milo
Sandra Milo is a Tunisian Italian actress known for her roles in Fellini's 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits.
Milo's career began when she starred in General della Rovere, a 1959 film directed by the famed Roberto Rossellini.
Rossella Falk
Rossella Falk was an Italian actress best known for her role in Fellini's 8 1/2. She died in 2013 at age 86.
Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele is an English actress known for her roles in 1960s Italian and American horror cinema.
She performed in Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960) and Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum (1960) before playing Gloria in Fellini's 8 1/2. This role is widely rumored to have been based on Sophia Loren.
