La Dolce Vita star Anita Ekberg dies

A former Miss Sweden, she was branded a "sex goddess" for her performance in Federico Fellini's 1960 movie.

The moment where she wades through Rome's Trevi Fountain in a strapless dress is considered one of cinema's most iconic scenes.

Ekberg died in Rome on Sunday morning, her lawyer confirmed. She had been in hospital since Christmas following a series of illnesses.

The actress had been in a wheelchair for several years after being knocked down by one of her pet Great Danes, breaking a hip.

Born in Malmo, Sweden, in 1931, Ekberg was the sixth of eight children.

She said her father, a harbour master and a strict Protestant, was "the apple of my eye", although she later fell out with all but one of her siblings.

After winning the Miss Sweden title at the age of 20, she travelled to America where she took part in the Miss Universe contest.

Although she didn't win and spoke very little English, she was immediately signed to a contract by Universal Pictures.

The studio sent her to work in Italy, where she played Henry Fonda's unfaithful wife in King Vidor's War and Peace (1956).

It was in Rome that she met director Federico Fellini, who cast her in La Dolce Vita as Sylvia Rank - "the most wonderful woman created since the beginning of time" - an actress pursued by news photographers.

The famous scene in the Trevi Fountain saw Ekberg and her co-star Marcello Mastroianni wading through the chilled waters in sensual abandon.

The sight of the water caressing her impossibly voluptuous body was shocking for audiences in the 1950s.

The Vatican condemned it, but the famously sharp-tongued actress was unrepentant.

"I'm very proud of my breasts, as every woman should be," she once said.

"It's not cellular obesity, it's womanliness."

(BBC)