- The "it" girl and teenage sensation of the '60s. Many young women copied her haircut and her fashion style after watching her films.
- She only had one Hollywood production (Hotel (1967)) during the peak of her film career. She could have pursued more work in Hollywood but chose not to. She said she is too much of a European and does not enjoy the Hollywood / California lifestyle.
- Had a lifelong friendship with Marcello Mastroianni. He was one of her favorite actors she had worked with. She said he was always a gentleman and treated her with nothing but respect.
- Tried to flee Italy for France with 7 month old daughter Sabrina Capucci while in the middle of a custody battle with Fabrizio Capucci. She was stopped at the border, escorted back to Rome by authorities and placed under house arrest.
- She met her first husband Fabrizio Capucci on the set of Crazy Desire (1962) in 1961. She fell for him because he was the only male on the set who did not hit on her.
- She was a fan of Audrey Hepburn and named her daughter after Hepburn's character in Sabrina (1954).
- Got her big break when her uncredited brief appearance in The Hole (1960) caught the eye of a Paris TV reporter. Sophia Loren happened to see the reporter's interview with Catherine on TV. She immediately thought she looked perfect for the lead role in Sweet Deceptions (1960) which was being cast by her producer husband Carlo Ponti.
- The only conversation she had with co-star Bette Davis on the set of The Empty Canvas (1963) was one word "hello".
- Lived on $8 a day during her salad days.
- Married her first husband Fabrizio Capucci at the tender age of 17 despite her father's disapproval. She was several months pregnant at the time. Her parents were notably absent at the civil ceremony. Only her sister Agnès Spaak and actor Vittorio Gassman were present.
- Her movie career started to stall in the '80s. She turned her attention to journalism and television. She had a very successful Italian TV talk show called Harem (1987) that ran from 1988-2002.
- Told her classmates she wanted to become an actress. They made fun of her by asking for her autograph.
- Originally wanted to become a ballerina but was told she was too tall.
- Has a successful singing and song-writing career. Considered by some as the Italian equivalent of French chanteuse Françoise Hardy.
- Did not speak Italian when she first arrived in Italy as an actress. Her early Italian film dialogues were dubbed.
- Competed in reality TV show L'isola dei famosi (2003) (Italian version of Survivor (2000)) briefly in 2015 but dropped out citing safety concerns and said she would not risk her life for a game show.
- In 2020 she had a cerebral hemorrhage and, subsequently, epileptic seizures.
- Former sister-in-law of Roberto Capucci. Former stepmother of Gianluca Guidi.
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