Ewa Aulin rose to fame in her native Sweden when she won the title of Miss Teen Sweden in 1965 at age 15. In the same year Aulin had been approached by Gunnar Fischer to appear as the young girl in his short filmDjävulen's Instrument. Subsequently, she represented Sweden in the first ever Miss Teen International pageant, which was held on April 6, 1966 in Hollywood, California. Aulin won; thereby earning the title of Miss Teen International 1966. Aulin's success as Miss Teen International attracted attention not only in Sweden, where she appeared on the popular entertainment show Hylands Hörna, but also in Italy, and in 1967 at age 16, she made her feature-film debut with a supporting role in the comedy Don Giovanni in Sicilia, based on the novel by Vitaliano Brancati. This film led to a movie career for Aulin that would last a little more than six years, starting with leading roles in two notable giallo films: the pop art-style Col cuore in gola directed by Tinto Brass, and the avant-garde La morte ha fatto l'uovo directed by Giulio Questi. Aulin's co-star in both these films was Jean-Louis Trintignant. In late 1967, Aulin was cast as the title character in her most famous film, the American-Italian-French co-production Candy, directed by Christian Marquand. Aulin learned that she had the role only the day before filming began in early December 1967. The story involves Aulin's character's search for the meaning of life, which leads to encounters with a variety of different men and always ends in a sexual situation. The film did poorly in America and failed to make an international star out of Aulin. It was more successful in Europe and has gained some popularity as a cult film in later years. Aulin, in particular received praise for performance in the film, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. As a consequence of her appearance in this role, Aulin was stereotyped as something of a 'blonde nymphet' by people in the film industry. The only other American film Aulin appeared in was Start the Revolution Without Me, a comedy of errors set during the French Revolution. Aulin played a supporting role as Christina of Belgium, and the film starred Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland, but like Candy, the film did little business in America. Later the same year, Aulin starred in the experimental film Microscopic Liquid Subway to Oblivion, which was written and directed by Aulin's husband who used family money to set himself up as a film producer, using the Anglo sounding stage name John Shadow. They had married secretly in Mexico in early 1968. The film itself barely was released anywhere in the world. After this, Aulin only appeared in Italian films. Many of her films were sex comedies set in the Middle Ages but she also managed to make more impact in drama and thriller films. She played one of the leads in the giallo The Double directed by Romolo Guerrieri, as well as leading roles in Quando l'amore è sensualità and Jorge Grau's Ceremonia Sangrienta, played an undead avenging angel in Joe D'Amato's gothic horror film La morte ha sorriso all'assassino and also appeared in the thriller Una vita lunga un giorno. Aulin and John Shadow had divorced in 1972. In 1974, at age 24, Aulin married a builder, Cesare Paladino, and by him had two daughters. One of her daughters, Olivia Paladino, is partner of Giuseppe Conte, 58th prime minister of Italy. She abandoned her acting career, enrolled at university, and became a teacher. Since her retirement, she has appeared only in one other film, Mi fai un favore, in a supporting role.
