In 1956, she was awarded the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as best up-and-coming young actress, but only with Luchino Visconti's epic "Rocco e i suoi fratelli" ("Rocco and His Brothers", 1960), she was able to draw the public's attention. In 1962, she married Italian actor Renato Salvatori. Travelling back and forth between two film careers in France and Italy, Girardot worked with Italian directors, including Marco Ferreri in the scandalous "The Ape Woman" (1964), which became one of the main attractions at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. In 1968, she also starred in the cult anti-consumerism French film "Erotissimo" (Gérard Pirès, 1968).