Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg [ 1 ] 29 September β 11 January was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and curvaceous figure. In her teens, Anita worked as a fashion model. This led to the Miss Sweden contest which she won.
Despite speaking very little English, she went to the United States to compete for the Miss Universe title an unofficial beauty pageant at that time, it became official in Although Ekberg did not win the Miss Universe pageant, as one of six finalists, she did earn a starlet 's contract with Universal Studios. As a starlet at Universal, she received lessons in drama, elocution, dancing, horseback riding, and fencing.
Ekberg skipped many of her drama lessons, restricting herself to riding horses in the Hollywood Hills. Ekberg later admitted she was spoiled by the studio system and played, instead of pursuing bigger film roles.
The combination of Ekberg's voluptuous physique and colourful private life such as her well-publicized romances with Hollywood's leading men like Frank Sinatra , Tyrone Power , Yul Brynner , Rod Taylor , and Errol Flynn [ 2 ] [ 6 ] appealed to the gossip magazines, like Confidential and she soon became a major s pin-up , appearing in men's magazines like Playboy.
She once admitted that an incident in which her dress burst open in the lobby of London's Berkeley Hotel [ 8 ] was prearranged with a photographer. Ekberg toured Greenland with Bob Hope , entertaining American servicemen. By the mids, after several modelling jobs, Ekberg finally broke into the film industry.
