SOPHIA LOREN

'Sophia Loren' (born September 20, 1934) is a motion picture and stage, Academy Award-winning actress, widely considered to be the most popular Italian actress.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

International fame

Current activity

Trivia

Filmography

Notes

External links

Biography

Early life and career

Sophia Loren was born 'Sofia Villani Scicolone' in Rome. Her father Riccardo Scicolone was an engineer and her mother Romilda Villani was an aspiring actress and piano teacher. Loren grew up impoverished in wartime Pozzuoli, near Naples sharing a small flat with her sister Maria, her grandparents and her uncles and aunts. She has said on many occasions that being born into and living with extreme poverty for most of her childhood gave her a strength of character that allowed her to succeed and appreciate every moment she has been given as a human being. Up until Sophia Loren was about 14, she was considered an ugly duckling. Seemingly overnight, she bloomed into a beautiful woman.
In 1949, at age 15, Loren left for Rome and about a year later began her film career with bit parts in mostly minor Italian films. In 1951, Loren and her mother worked as extras in Quo Vadis, which was filmed in Rome and provided Loren with an early brush with Hollywood. She also appeared as Aida in ''Aida'' (1953), in which the singing of Loren's role was dubbed by opera star Renata Tebaldi, and which caught the eye of Cecil B. DeMille, who once said of Loren that 'You could build mountains around that girl.'
Loren also supported her mother and sister by working as a model in the weekly illustrated romantic stories, called fumetti or fotoromanzi under the name Sofia Villani or Sofia Lazzaro. She also took part in regional beauty contests, where she won several prizes. Loren was discovered by her future husband, the much older and already-married film producer Carlo Ponti, and they wed on September 17, 1957, three days before her 23rd birthday. Their first marriage had to be annulled in order to keep Ponti from being charged with bigamy. The couple remarried on April 9, 1966, but only after Sophia, Ponti, and Ponti's first wife all obtained French citizenship, thus enabling Carlo to divorce his first wife and marry Sophia in France, where, at the time, Catholic doctrines regarding divorce did not prevent legal civil marriage. The couple eventually had two sons together, Carlo Ponti, Jr., and Edoardo Ponti. The couple remained together until Ponti's death on January 9, 2007.
Eventually, Sofia Scicolone changed her name to Sophia Loren (a twist on the name of Swedish actress Marta Toren) and appeared in film roles that emphasized her voluptuous physique, even appearing topless in the films ''Two Nights with Cleopatra'' and ''It's Him, Yes! Yes!'' (considered acceptable in European cinema at the time, though said scenes were usually cut when the films were distributed in the United Kingdom or in North America). These early films were the only times she would appear nude; she stated that she did not feel comfortable exposed to the camera in the nude, as doing so represented 'a lot of nakedness'. Loren's acting career took off upon meeting Vittorio De Sica and Marcello Mastroianni in 1954. Many feel that her collaborations with De Sica would mark her finest work as an actress. Many of Sophia's Italian films were dubbed by voice-over actors for the English-speaking market. Wisely, Sophia dubbed herself in English to familiarize the international audience with the sound of her voice.
By the late 1950s, Loren's star had begun to rise in Hollywood, with films such as 1957's ''Boy on a Dolphin'' and ''The Pride and the Passion'' in which she co-starred with Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. Grant, reportedly, fell so deeply in love with Loren that he ardently proposed marriage, despite her obvious loyalty to Carlo Ponti and Grant's own union with actress and writer Betsy Drake. It is possible that Loren had an affair with Grant but how serious their relationship was is now known only to her. Stargazers and celebrity biographers consider the putative Loren-Grant romance to be one of the more mysterious and elusive romantic involvements in Hollywood history.

International fame

Loren became an international film star with a five-picture contract with Paramount Studios. Among her films at this time: ''Desire Under the Elms'' with Anthony Perkins, based upon the Eugene O'Neill play; ''Houseboat'', a romantic comedy co-starring Cary Grant; and George Cukor's ''Heller in Pink Tights'' in which she appeared with blond hair (a wig) for the first time. Loren demonstrated considerable dramatic skills and attracted respect as a dramatic and comedic actress, especially in Italian projects where she could express herself more freely, although she acquired great proficiency in English.
In 1960, her acclaimed performance in Vittorio De Sica's ''Two Women'' earned many awards, including the Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film Festivals' best performance prizes. Her performance was also awarded an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance. Initially, the stark, gritty story of a
mother and daughter surviving in war-torn Italy was to cast Anna Magnani as Sophia's mother. Negotiations, perhaps due to billing, broke down and the screenplay was rewritten to make Sophia the mother; Eleonora Brown portrayed the daughter.
Belying the typical portrayal of the beautiful actress as vacuous and emptyheaded, Loren was known for her sharp wit and insight. One of her most frequently-quoted sayings is her quip about her famously-voluptuous figure: "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti."
During the 1960s Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world, and she continued to make films in both the U.S. and Europe, acting with leading male stars. In 1964, her career reached its zenith when she received $1 million to act in ''The Fall of the Roman Empire''.
Among her best-known films of this period are
''The Millionairess'' (1960) with Peter Sellers,
Vittorio De Sica’s triptych ''Ieri, oggi, domani'' (1963) with Marcello Mastroianni,
Peter Ustinov's ''Lady L'' (1965) with Paul Newman,
and
Charlie Chaplin's final film, ''A Countess from Hong Kong'' (1967) with Marlon Brando.
Despite the failure of many of her films to generate sales at the box office, she has an impressive roster of credits and work with famous co-stars. Invariably, she has turned in a charming performance and worn some of the most lavish costumes ever created for the movies. Some of her most attractive performances include ''A Breath of Scandal'' (1960), ''Madame Sans-Gêne'' (1962), ''Heller in Pink Tights'' (1960) and ''More Than A Miracle'' (1967).
Loren also recorded well over two dozen songs throughout her career, including a best-selling album of comedic songs with Peter Sellers; reportedly, she had to fend off his romantic advances. It was partly due to Sellers' infatuation with Loren that he split with his first wife, Anne Howe. Loren has made it clear to numerous biographers that Seller's affections were reciprocated only platonically. This collaboration was covered in ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' where actress Sonia Aquino portrayed Loren.
Her struggle to have children was of worldwide interest. Having suffered two very physically and emotionally-painful miscarriages, she was referred to Swiss fertility specialist Dr. Huebert de Watteville. He determined that Loren was deficient in estrogen, and after he prescribed regular injections of the hormone and bed rest for her entire term, Loren became a mother twice. She has proudly stated that the births of her sons meant more to her than anything else she had accomplished in her life.
Once she achieved motherhood, Loren worked less. She moved into her 40's and 50's with roles in films including the last De Sica movie, ''The Voyage'', with Richard Burton and Ettore Scola's ''A Special Day'' with Mastroianni.
In 1980, she portrayed herself, as well as her mother, in a made-for-television biopic adaptation of her autobiography. Actresses, Ritza Brown and Chiara Ferrari played Loren at younger ages. She made headlines in 1982 when she served an 18-day prison sentence in Italy on tax evasion charges, a fact that didn't damage her career or popularity.
In her 60s, Loren became selective about choosing her films and ventured into various areas of business, including cook books, eyewear (a perptual bestseller that can be viewed at www.SophiaLorenEyewear.com), jewelry and perfume. She also made well-received appearances in Robert Altman's ''Ready to Wear'' and the 1995 comedy ''Grumpier Old Men'' playing a ''femme fatale'' opposite Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.
In 1991, Loren received an honorary Academy Award for her contribution to world cinema and was declared "one of the world cinema's treasures".

Current activity

Loren appeared in the 2007 Pirelli Calendar at the age of 72. [1]
She is a huge fan of the football club S.S.C. Napoli and in May 2007, when the team was third in Serie B, she told the Gazzetta dello Sport that she would do a striptease if they achieved promotion to Serie A for the 2007/08 season. “The fans have a total passion, the city deserves promotion.“^[1] On June 10, 2007, they did achieve promotion to Serie A.

Trivia

★ Was given the honour of carrying the Olympic flag during the opening ceremonies in Turin, 2006.

★ Her sister, Anna Maria Scicolone, was formerly married to Romano Mussolini, a son of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

★ The Archbishop of Genoa once said that although the Vatican opposed human cloning, "an exception might be made in the case of Sophia Loren".[2]

★ Her measurements of 38C-24-38 and height of 5'8 are virtually unchanged to this day.

★ Loren’s weight has been listed as 140-145 lbs. Her lowest weight on film is in Heller in Pink Tights for which she weighed 126 lbs and was laced into corsets that gave her an 18-inch waist.

★ She dislikes beauty salons and does her hair and nails herself.

★ Sophia Loren is mentioned in the Bob Dylan song "I Shall Be Free" as his solution for John F. Kennedy's need to make the country "grow."
Her childhood nickname: Toothpick (due to wartime hunger)

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1950	''I am the Capataz''	Secretary of the Dictator
	''You Are Mogli of Barbablu''	Girl kidnapped
	''A Certain Amount of Tarzan''	A tarzanide
	''I Devote, Thee''	A popular to the party of piedigrotta
	''Hearts at Sea''	Extra	uncredited
1951	''White Leprosy''	A girl in the boardinghouse
	''Owner of the Vapor''	Ballerinetta
	''Milan Billionaire''	Extra	uncredited
	''Magician for Force''	The bride
	''Quo Vadis''	Lygia's slave	uncredited
	''It's Him!... Yes! Yes!	Odalisca
	''Anna (1951 film)''	Night club assistant	uncredited
1952	''And Arrived the Accordatore''	Amica di Giulietta
	''I Dream of Zorro''	Conchita
	''The Favorite''	Leonora
1953	''The Country of Campanelli''	unknown
	''Pilgrim of Love''	unknown
	''We Find Ourselves in Arcade''	Marisa
	''Two Nights with Cleopatra''	Cleopatra/Nisca
	''Girls Marked Danger''	Elvira
	''Good Folk's Sunday''	Ines
	''Aida''	Aida
	''African Under the Seas''	Barbara Lama
1954	''Neapolitan Carousel''	Sisina
	''A Day in Court''	Anna
	''The Anatomy of Love''	The girl
	''Poverty and Nobility''	Gemma
	''The Gold of Naples''	Sofia
	''Attila''	Honoria
	''Too Bad She's Bad''	Lina Stroppiani
1955	''The Sign of Venus''	Agnese Tirabassi
	''The Miller's Beautiful Wife''	Carmela
	''The River Girl''	Nives Mongolini
	''Scandals in Sorrento''	Donna Sofia
1956	''Lucky to Be a Woman''	Antonietta Fallari
1957	''Boy on a Dolphin''	Phaedra
	''The Pride and the Passion''	Juana
	''Legend of the Lost''	Dita
1958	''Desire Under the Elms''	Anna Cabot
	''The Key''	Stella
	''The Black Orchid''	Rose Bianco
	''Houseboat''	Cinzia Zaccardi
1959	''That Kind of a Woman''	Kay
1960	''Heller in Pink Tights''	Angela Rossini
	''It Started in Naples''	Lucia Curio
	''The Millionairess''	Epifania Parerga
	''A Breath of Scandal''	Princess Olympia
	''Two Women''	Cesira	Academy Award - Best Actress Oscar
1961	''El Cid''	Chimene
1962	''Boccaccio '70''	Zoe
	''Madame Sans-Gêne''	Catherine Hubscher aka Madame Sans-Gêne
	''The Condemned of Altona''	Johanna
	''Five Miles to Midnight''	Lisa Macklin
1963	''Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow''	Adelina Sbaratti/Anna Molteni/Mara
1964	''The Fall of the Roman Empire''	Lucilla
	''Marriage Italian-Style''	Filumena Marturano	Academy Award nomination - Best Actress
1965	''Operation Crossbow''	Nora
	''Lady L''	Lady Louise Lendale/Lady L
1966	''Judith''	Judith
	''Arabesque''	Yasmin Azir
1967	''A Countess from Hong Kong''	Natascha
	''More Than a Miracle''	Isabella Candeloro
1968	''Ghosts - Italian Style''	Maria Lojacono
1970	''I Girasoli'' (Sunflower)	Giovanna
1971	''Lady Liberty''	Maddalena Ciarrapico
	''The Priest's Wife''	Valeria Billi
1972	''The Sin''	Hermana Germana
	''Man of La Mancha''	Aldonza/Dulcinea
1974	''The Voyage''	Adriana de Mauro
	''Verdict''	Teresa Leoni
	''Brief Encounter''	Anna Jesson
1975	''Sex Pot''	Pupa
1976	''The Cassandra Crossing''	Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain
1977	''A Special Day''	Antoinette
1978	''Angela''	Angela Kincaid
	''Blood Feud''	Titina Paterno
	''Brass Target''	Mara
1979	''Firepower''	Adele Tasca
1980	''Sophia Loren: Her Own Story''	Herself/Romilda Villani
1984	''Aurora by Night''	Aurora
1986	''Courage''	Marianna Miraldo
1988	''Running Away''	Cesira
	''The Fortunate Pilgrim''	Lucia
1990	''Saturday, Sunday and Monday''	Rosa Priore
1994	''Prêt-à-Porter''	Isabella de la Fontaine
1995	''Grumpier Old Men''	Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti
1997	''Soleil''	Maman Lévy
2001	''Francesca and Nunziata''	Francesca Montorsi
2002	''Between Strangers''	Olivia
2004	''Lives of the Saints''	Teresa Innocente
	''Too Much Romance... It's Time for Stuffed Peppers''	unknown

Notes

1. Reuters report of 2007-05-15

External links

★

★

★ Official website

★ Bad She’s Bad – Peccato che sia una Canaglia (1954)'' featuring 20-years old Sophia - film review at Pellicola - window to fine italian cinema.

★ All Movie Guide biography of Loren

★ Sophia Loren Fan Site

★

★ Interview with Sophia Loren, June '07