History books often get this image of being boring, but if you think about it, there are so many characters throughout history that have been absolutely legendary and fascinating. And how do we know about them? Thanks to those “boring” history books. Cleopatra is beyond doubt a legendary figure in history and has also become an icon in the beauty and fashion industry. It’s been 2000 years since she walked the earth and yet she remains a style icon and there are countless movies made about her and she’s constantly referenced even in pop culture. Let’s take a look at just a few examples of Cleopatra being depicted on the screen throughout the years.
Vivien Leigh
The legendary Vivien Leigh played Cleopatra in the 1945 movie Caesar and Cleopatra. The story revolved around young Cleopatra meeting Julius Caesar who teaches her how to be the ruler of Egypt. And all of that in the middle of the Roman Civil War. Cleopatra’s costumes and makeup in this movie are to die for.
Katy Perry
While Katy Perry didn’t play Cleopatra in a movie, she did dress up as her in her 2013 music video for the song Dark Horse. Knowing Katy Perry’s love of dressing up in bright colors and unique costumes – this music video really delivers some entertaining visuals. It was certainly a unique and modernized version of Cleopatra, but the point remains, she’s still a relevant icon to this day.
Monica Bellucci
If you’ve never seen Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra – what have you been doing with your life? This movie is comedy gold and honestly, everyone should watch it. It might not be the most historically accurate movie about Cleopatra, but it’s the funniest one you’ll see and Monica Bellucci as Cleo is incredible.
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor was already a style icon of her time so it makes sense that she would get to play Cleopatra in a movie. But there are so many movies named Cleopatra that we feel the need to specify that the 1963 version is the one where you can see Liz in all her Cleo glory.
Sophia Loren
Do you even need more incentive to watch a movie when you already know Sophia Loren is in it? And she’s playing Cleopatra. The 1954 movie Two Nights With Cleopatra really took some risks. Even in 2020, we’d still call some of the scenes risky, so for 1954, it must’ve been scandalous.
Claudette Colbert
Here’s another movie called Cleopatra. This one was made in 1934 and was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and featuring Claudette Colbert as Cleopatra. Cecil was quite a prolific filmmaker, he’s made 70 movies over the course of his life and professional career, and this one was a pretty great one.
Amanda Barrie
Carry and Cleo is a 1964 British film starring Amanda Barrie as Cleopatra. It’s a comedy that takes a lot of creative liberties but it’s a joy to watch. And when you look at the costumes, Cleopatra looks a lot like a 1960s fashionista but makes it gold. This is probably the weirdest movie about Leopard you’ll ever see but you know, it’s a 1960’s comedy, what do you expect?
Leonor Varela
This is not a movie, but a miniseries based on a fiction novel “The Memoirs of Cleopatra”. This one was made in 1999 and stars Leonor Valera as Cleo and Timothy Dalton as Caesar. You will see many familiar faces in this and it’s a drama, so you know it’s going to be a fun watch. It might’ve been made at the end of the 90s but this miniseries stands the test of time pretty well.