Anita Ekberg

 Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (Swedish pronunciation: ( listen); 29 September 1931 until 11 January 2015) was an Swedish actress who appeared in American and European films. Her performance in the role of Sylvia in Federico Fellini's film La Dolce Vita is her most well-known. Ekberg spent most of her time in Italy and was appointed an permanent resident in 1964. She is the sixth child of Gustav Fredrik Ekberg and Alva Maria Larsson's eight children. In her teens, Anita worked as a model in fashion. Ekberg was a participant in the Miss Malmo competition in 1950 following the advice of her mother. This led to being selected for the Miss Sweden contest which she took home. Then she traveled to the United States to compete for the 1951 Miss Universe title (an unofficial pageant until the pageant officially became official in 1952) and was able to compete despite speaking only a little English.Although Ekberg did not win the Miss Universe pageant, as one of six contestants she did earn the title of a starlet with Universal Studios, as was the norm in the era.