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Sophia Loren

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000601
Sophia Loren
Take a closer look at the various roles Sophia Loren has played throughout her legendary acting career.
Play clip1:15
Sophia Loren | Career Retrospective
36 Videos
99+ Photos
Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone at the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome on September 20, 1934. Her father Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children (Sophia and her younger sister Maria Scicolone). Growing up in the slums of Pozzuoli during the second World War without any support from her father, she experienced great sadness in her childhood. Her life took an unexpected turn for the best when, at age 14, she entered into a beauty contest and placed as one of the finalists. It was here that Sophia caught the attention of film producer Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she later married. Perhaps he was the father figure she never experienced as a child. Under his guidance, Sophia was put under contract and appeared as an extra in ten films beginning with Le sei mogli di Barbablù (1950), before working her way up to supporting roles. In these early films, she was credited as "Sofia Lazzaro" because people joked her beauty could raise Lazzarus from the dead.

By her late teens, Sophia was playing lead roles in many Italian features such as La favorita (1952) and Aida (1953). In 1957, she embarked on a successful acting career in the United States, starring in Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Legend of the Lost (1957), and The Pride and the Passion (1957) that year. She had a short-lived but much-publicized fling with co-star Cary Grant, who was nearly 31 years her senior. She was only 22 while he was 53, and she rejected a marriage proposal from him. They were paired together a second time in the family-friendly romantic comedy Houseboat (1958). While under contract to Paramount, Sophia starred in Desire Under the Elms (1958), The Key (1958), The Black Orchid (1958), It Started in Naples (1960), Heller in Pink Tights (1960), A Breath of Scandal (1960), and The Millionairess (1960) before returning to Italy to star in Two Women (1960). The film was a period piece about a woman living in war-torn Italy who is raped while trying to protect her young daughter. Originally cast as the more glamorous child, Sophia fought against type and was re-cast as the mother, displaying a lack of vanity and proving herself as a genuine actress. This performance received international acclaim and was honored with an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Sophia remained a bona fide international movie star throughout the sixties and seventies, making films on both sides of the Atlantic, and starring opposite such leading men as Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, and Charlton Heston. Her English-language films included El Cid (1961), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Arabesque (1966), Man of La Mancha (1972), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). She gained wider respect with her Italian films, especially Marriage Italian Style (1964) and A Special Day (1977), both of which co-starred Marcello Mastroianni. During these years she received a second Oscar nomination and won five Golden Globe Awards.

From the eighties onward, Sophia's appearances on the big screen came few and far between. She preferred to spend the majority of her time raising sons Carlo Ponti Jr. (b. 1968) and Edoardo Ponti (b. 1973). Her only acting credits during the decade were five television films, beginning with Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980), a biopic in which she portrayed herself and her mother. She ventured into other areas of business and became the first actress to launch her own fragrance and design of eyewear. In 1982 she voluntarily spent nineteen days in jail for tax evasion.

In 1991 Sophia received an Honorary Academy Award for her body of work, and was declared "one of world cinema's greatest treasures." That same year, she experienced a terrible loss when her mother died of cancer. Her return to mainstream films in Ready to Wear (1994) was well-received, although the film as a whole was not. She followed this up with her biggest U.S. hit in years, the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995), in which she played a sexy divorcée who seduces Walter Matthau. Over the next decade Sophia had plum roles in a few independent films like Soleil (1997), Between Strangers (2002) (directed by Edoardo), and Lives of the Saints (2004). Still beautiful at 72, she posed scantily-clad for the 2007 Pirelli Calendar. Sadly, that same year she mourned the death of her 94-year-old spouse, Carlo Ponti. In 2009, after far too much time away from film, she appeared in the musical Nine (2009) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis. These days Sophia is based in Switzerland but frequently travels to the states to spend time with her sons and their families (Eduardo is married to actress Sasha Alexander). Sophia Loren remains one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in the international film world.
BornSeptember 20, 1934
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BornSeptember 20, 1934
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000601
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    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 73 wins & 44 nominations total

    Photos817

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    Known for

    Sophia Loren in Two Women (1960)
    Two Women
    7.7
    • Cesira
    • 1960
    Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck in Arabesque (1966)
    Arabesque
    6.4
    • Yasmin Azir
    • 1966
    Marriage Italian Style (1964)
    Marriage Italian Style
    7.4
    • Filumena Marturano
    • 1964
    A Special Day (1977)
    A Special Day
    8.1
    • Antonietta Taberi
    • 1977

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Sophia Loren in The Life Ahead (2020)
      The Life Ahead
      6.8
      • Madame Rosa
      • 2020
    • Laura Pausini: Io sì (Seen) (2020)
      Laura Pausini: Io sì (Seen)
      6.2
      Music Video
      • Sophia Loren
      • 2020
    • Human Voice (2014)
      Human Voice
      6.6
      Short
      • Angela
      • 2014
    • Sophia Loren and Margareth Madè in My House Is Full of Mirrors (2010)
      My House Is Full of Mirrors
      6.2
      TV Movie
      • Romilda Villani
      • 2010
    • Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Marion Cotillard in Nine (2009)
      Nine
      5.8
      • Mamma
      • 2009
    • Too Much Romance... It's Time for Stuffed Peppers (2004)
      Too Much Romance... It's Time for Stuffed Peppers
      4.1
      • Maria (as Sofia Loren)
      • 2004
    • Sophia Loren, Kris Kristofferson, Sabrina Ferilli, Fab Filippo, and Nick Mancuso in Lives of the Saints (2004)
      Lives of the Saints
      6.6
      TV Movie
      • Teresa Innocente
      • 2004
    • Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino, Gérard Depardieu, Malcolm McDowell, Pete Postlethwaite, Deborah Kara Unger, and Klaus Maria Brandauer in Between Strangers (2002)
      Between Strangers
      6.0
      • Olivia
      • 2002
    • Francesca e Nunziata (2001)
      Francesca e Nunziata
      6.5
      TV Movie
      • Francesca Montorsi
      • 2001
    • Soleil (1997)
      Soleil
      5.7
      • Maman Lévy
      • 1997
    • Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Jack Lemmon, and Walter Matthau in Grumpier Old Men (1995)
      Grumpier Old Men
      6.7
      • Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti
      • 1995
    • Helena Christensen in Ready to Wear (1994)
      Ready to Wear
      5.2
      • Isabella de la Fontaine
      • 1994
    • Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1990)
      Saturday, Sunday and Monday
      6.5
      • Rosa Priore
      • 1990
    • Sophia Loren in Running Away (1989)
      Running Away
      6.9
      TV Movie
      • Cesira
      • 1989
    • The Fortunate Pilgrim (1988)
      The Fortunate Pilgrim
      7.2
      TV Mini Series
      • Lucia
      • 1988

    Soundtrack



    • Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter (2021)
      The Lost Daughter
      6.7
      • performer: "Ti ein' afto pou to lene agapi"
      • 2021
    • Professor T. (2015)
      Professor T.
      8.2
      TV Series
      • performer: "Goodness Gracious Me"
      • 2018
    • Colin Farrell in The Lobster (2015)
      The Lobster
      7.1
      • performer: "Ti ein' afto pouto lene agapi"
      • 2015
    • Bach Long, Hoang Trinh, Thanh Thuy, Vu Dình Toàn, and Thanh Loc in Ngay Xua Ngay Xua (2000)
      Ngay Xua Ngay Xua
      8.8
      TV Series
      • performer: "Mambo Italiano"
      • 2012
    • The Island (2010)
      The Island
      9.1
      TV Series
      • performer: "Ti ein' afto pou to lene agapi"
      • 2011
    • Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Marion Cotillard in Nine (2009)
      Nine
      5.8
      • performer: "Guarda La Luna"
      • 2009
    • Charlize Theron, John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Watson in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
      The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
      6.9
      • performer: "Goodness Gracious Me"
      • 2004
    • Sophia Loren in Running Away (1989)
      Running Away
      6.9
      TV Movie
      • performer: "Ma Dio ddo' sta"
      • 1989
    • Joanne Whalley in Scandal (1989)
      Scandal
      6.4
      • performer: "Goodness Gracious Me" (as Sofia Loren, uncredited)
      • 1989
    • Qualcosa di biondo (1984)
      Qualcosa di biondo
      6.0
      • performer: "Santa Lucia luntana" (uncredited)
      • 1984
    • Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in Gun Moll (1975)
      Gun Moll
      5.5
      • performer: "Menage A Trois", "Get Charlie"
      • 1975
    • Sophia Loren, Peter O'Toole, and James Coco in Man of La Mancha (1972)
      Man of La Mancha
      6.5
      • performer: "It's All The Same", "The Dubbing" (Knight of the Woeful Countenance), "Aldonza", "Dulcinea" (reprise), "Man of La Mancha" (second reprise), "Finale: The Impossible Dream" ("The Impossible Dream" (second reprise))
      • 1972
    • Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in The Priest's Wife (1970)
      The Priest's Wife
      6.3
      • performer: "Anyone"
      • 1970
    • The Love Goddesses (1965)
      The Love Goddesses
      6.9
      • performer: "You Want to Be Americano" (uncredited)
      • 1965
    • Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg, and Romy Schneider in Boccaccio '70 (1962)
      Boccaccio '70
      7.0
      • performer: "Soldi soldi soldi"
      • 1962

    Videos36

    Sophia Loren | Career Retrospective
    Clip 1:15
    Sophia Loren | Career Retrospective
    Nine
    Interview 1:10
    Nine
    Nine
    Interview 1:10
    Nine
    Trailer
    Trailer 1:17
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 2:22
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 3:44
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 4:13
    Trailer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Alternative names
      • Sofia Lazzaro
    • Height
      • 5′ 7½″ (1.71 m)
    • Born
      • September 20, 1934
      • Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • Spouses
        Carlo PontiApril 9, 1966 - January 10, 2007 (his death, 2 children)
    • Children
        Carlo Ponti Jr.
    • Parents
        Riccardo Scicolone
    • Relatives
        Maria Scicolone(Sibling)
    • Other works
      TV commercial: Parmacotto (italian prosciutto)
    • Publicity listings
      • 5 Biographical Movies
      • 7 Print Biographies
      • 3 Portrayals
      • 8 Interviews
      • 40 Articles
      • 48 Pictorials
      • 779 Magazine Cover Photos

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Her mother won an all-Italy Greta Garbo lookalike contest run by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1932; but, being only 17 years old, her mother would not allow her to pursue her Hollywood dream. Soon after, she became pregnant with Sofia.
    • Quotes
      Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got.
    • Trademarks
        Natural brunette hair
    • Nickname
      • The Italian Marilyn Monroe
    • Salaries
        Firepower
        (1979)
        $1,000,000

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • How old is Sophia Loren?
      90 years old
    • When was Sophia Loren born?
      September 20, 1934
    • Where was Sophia Loren born?
      Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • What is Sophia Loren's birth name?
      Sofia Villani Scicolone
    • How tall is Sophia Loren?
      5 feet 8 inches, or 1.71 meters

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