Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren, original name Sofia Villani Scicolone (born September 20, 1934, Rome, Italy), Italian film actress who rose above her poverty-stricken origins in postwar Naples to become universally recognized as one of Italy’s most beautiful women and its most famous movie star.
Before working in the cinema, Sofia Scicolone changed her last name to Lazzaro for work in the foto-romanzo, popular pulp magazines that used still photographs to depict romantic stories. Her first film role was as an extra, one of many slave girls in the American production of Quo Vadis? (1951). Under the tutelage of producer Carlo Ponti (her future husband), Scicolone was transformed into Sophia Loren. Her career was launched in a series of low-budget comedies before she attracted critical and popular attention with Aida (1953), in which she lip-synched the singing of Renata Tebaldi in the title role.

Loren’s beauty often overshadowed her enormous talents as an actress, but her earthy charisma is evident even in such early works as Vittorio De Sica’s L’oro di Napoli (1954; The Gold of Naples). With Ponti’s help, Loren increased her international visibility by appearing in Hollywood films opposite such major stars as Cary Grant (Houseboat, 1968), Clark Gable (It Started in Naples, 1960), Frank Sinatra (The Pride and the Passion, 1957, also with Grant), Alan Ladd (Boy on a Dolphin, 1957), William Holden (The Key, 1958), and Paul Newman (Lady L, 1965). Such exposure was undoubtedly instrumental in helping her win an Academy Award (Oscar) for best actress in De Sica’s La ciociara (1961; Two Women), in which she delivered a powerful performance as the courageous mother of a teenage girl during World War II.

Two other De Sica films showcased her comic talents and paired her with another Italian film icon, Marcello Mastroianni: Ieri, oggi, domani (1963; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), a film that earned an Oscar for best foreign film; and Matrimonio all’italiana (1964; Marriage, Italian Style). The best performance of her late career, again with Mastroianni, was for director Ettore Scola in Una giornata particolare (1977, A Special Day). Loren’s subsequent work included the television movie Courage (1986) and the feature films Prêt-à-Porter (1994), which was directed by Robert Altman, and the musical Nine (2009).

International recognition for Loren’s distinguished acting career includes a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1991 and a career Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival in 1998. She also made headlines in the 1990s for her strong defense of animal rights. In 2010 she received the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for theatre/film.

Spouse(s):
Carlo Ponti, Sr.(m. 1957–62, annulled; 1966–2007, his death)
Children: Carlo Ponti, Jr., Edoardo Ponti

Filmography:
1950 - I Am the Capataz
1950 - Barbablu's Six Wives
1950 - Tototarzan
1950 - Il voto
1950 - Hearts at Sea
1951 - White Leprosy
1951 - Owner of the Vapor
1951 - Milan Billionaire
1951 - Magician for Force
1951 - Quo Vadis
1951 - It Was Him!... Yes! Yes!
1951 - Anna
1952 - And Arrived the Accordatore
1952 - I Dream of Zorro
1952 - The Favorite
1953 - The Country of Campanelli
1953 - Pilgrim of Love
1953 - We Find Ourselves in the Gallery
1953 - Two Nights with Cleopatra
1953 - Girls Marked Danger
1953 - Good Folk's Sunday
1953 - Aida
1953 - Africa Under the Seas
1954 - Neapolitan Carousel
1954 - Un giorno in pretura
1954 - The Anatomy of Love
1954 - Poverty and Nobility
1954 - The Gold of Naples
1954 - Attila
1954 - Too Bad She's Bad
1955 - The Sign of Venus
1955 - The Miller's Beautiful Wife
1955 - The River Girl
1955 - Scandal in Sorrento
1956 - Lucky to Be a Woman
1957 - Boy on a Dolphin
1957 - The Pride and the Passion
1957 - Legend of the Lost
1958 - Desire Under the Elms
1958 - The Key
1958 - The Black Orchid
1958 - Houseboat
1959 - That Kind of Woman
1960 - Heller in Pink Tights
1960 - It Started in Naples
1960 - The Millionairess
1960 - A Breath of Scandal
1960 - Two Women
1961 - El Cid
1961 - Madame Sans-Gêne, a.k.a., "Madame"
1962 - Boccaccio '70
1962 - The Prisoners of Altona
1962 - Five Miles to Midnight
1963 - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
1964 - The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964 - Marriage Italian-Style
1965 - Operation Crossbow
1965 - Lady L
1966 - Judith
1966 - Arabesque
1967 - A Countess from Hong Kong
1967 - More Than a Miracle
1968 - Ghosts - Italian Style
1970 - Sunflower
1971 - Lady Liberty
1971 - The Priest's Wife
1972 - Man of La Mancha
1973 - The Sin
1974 - The Voyage
1974 - Verdict
1974 - Brief Encounter
1975 - Sex Pot
1976 - The Cassandra Crossing
1977 - A Special Day
1978 - Blood Feud
1978 - Brass Target
1978 - Angela
1979 - Firepower
1980 - Sophia Loren: Her Own Story
1984 - Aurora
1986 - Courage
1988 - The Fortunate Pilgrim
1989 - Running Away
1990 - Saturday, Sunday and Monday
1994 - Prêt-à-Porter
1995 - Grumpier Old Men
1997 - Soleil (fr)
2001 - Francesca e Nunziata
2002 - Between Strangers
2004 - Too Much Romance... It's Time for Stuffed Peppers
2004 - Lives of the Saints
2009 - Nine
2010 - My House Is Full of Mirrors
2011 - Cars 2
2013/14 - La Voce Umana