"There is a source of youth: it is your mind, your talent, the creativity that you bring into your life and the life of your beloved people. When you learn to drink from this source, you really will conquer age." - Sophia Loren
Still beautiful Sophia Loren, who recently exchanged her nineteen, still pleases the eye of her fans and admirers. She was considered the best Italian actress in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and still holds this honorary title. Her career was extremely fast-paced and successful: Sophie starred in more than 80 films and received many awards. This woman took place not only in her career, but also in her personal life, showing the whole world that she was a wonderful mother and wife. But first things first.
Carier start
Sophia Loren was born on September 20, 1934 and was named Sofia Villani Scicolone. It is hard to imagine, but she was a rather thin teenager, for which she received the nickname "stacketto" (in translation - "perch"), and did not stand out from the crowd of her peers. Her parents, aspiring actress Romilda (Romilda) and a simple engineer Riccardo (Riccardo), were not officially married - both had legal spouses, but the then Italian laws forbade couples to divorce. Sophie had a sister, Anna Maria, with whom the girl was literally inseparable in childhood. Both babies lived with their grandmother on their father's side in Pozzuoli, not far from Naples.
During the Second World War, the town of Pozzuoli, due to its proximity to the sea and the military factory, was often attacked by invaders. For their safety, the family moved from there to Naples, and returned only after the war ended, after which Grandma Loren opened her own pub in the city. Sophie's mother played the piano there, Maria sang, and the future Italian movie star worked as a waitress.
In 1950, Sophie took part in the Miss Italy competition under the pseudonym Sofya Lazzaro (Sofa Lazzaro), where she did not win, but received the title "Miss Elegance". It was then that the girl attracted the attention of the famous producer Carlo Ponti, who was a member of the jury of the beauty contest. Then he was 37, and she was only 14. Enchanted by Sophie, Ponti invited her to star in his films in episodic roles, one of which was the performance of the slave Lygia in the film "Camo Comes?" ("Quo Vadis", 1951), which served as the start for Sophie's career. After that, the aspiring actress changed her pseudonym to the well-known version of Sophia Loren, under whom she starred in the movie “Favorite” (“La Favorita”, 1952).
Success and its film partners
The decisive role of Lauren was her role in the film "Gold of Naples" ("The Gold of Naples", 1954), directed by Vittorio De Sica (Vittorio De Sica). In the film "It’s a pity that you are a canal" ("Peccato che sia una canaglia", 1954), Sophie first appeared in tandem with Marcello Mastroianni, with whom she later became associated with her career for a long time. Over the next three years, the actress adorned with her presence many famous films to this day, including "Bread, love and ..." ("Pane, amore e ...", 1955) and "Happiness to be a woman" ("Lucky to be a woman" ", 1956).
In 1957, Sophie began "storming" Hollywood, starring in the films "Boy on a dolphin" ("Boy on a dolphin", 1957), "Legend of the lost" ("Legend of the lost", 1957), "Pride and passion "(" The pride and the passion ", 1957) with Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. In 1958, the actress signed a lucrative contract with Paramount Pictures, which later turned out to be a turning point in her career.
In 1960, Lauren was invited to star in the film "The fall of the Roman Empire", offering her $ 1 million for her role as Lucilla, which made the girl a millionaire. A creation called "La Ciociara" (1960), created by Vittorio De Sica, where Sophie played together with Jean-Paul Belmondo, brought the young actress the Silver Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and an Oscar in the same nomination. In total, the film has collected more than 20 international awards of the world's most famous film festivals.
The second statuette was Oscar Loren for her role in Marriage in Italian (Matrimonio All'Italiana, 1964), where Sophie played with her good friend Mastroiani. The list of films where Lauren starred is large, but it is still worth highlighting such films as "El Cid" ("El Cid", 961) with Charlton Heston, "The Millionairess", 1960 year) with Peter Sellers, “It started in Naples” (1960) with Clark Gable and “Arabesque” (1966) with Gregory Peck ( Gregory Peck).
In the 1970s, the Italian actress starred with Richard Burton in the movie "Ride" ("Il Viaggio", 1974), for which she received the David di Donatello Prize for best actress.
Sophia Loren's only love - Carlo Ponti
Sophie often starred with the most famous actors and part-time most coveted bachelors of that time. On the screen, the actress shone, she was called a sex symbol and simply adored. In fact, Cary Grant, during the filming of Houseboat, 1958, sent flowers to his partner and fervently tried to convince her to leave her husband. However, Sophie remained faithful to her only husband Carlo Ponti, carrying her love for the film producer through her whole life, until the death of her husband in 2007.
The couple tied the knot in 1957, but in 1962 he was canceled due to charges of Ponti in bigamy. Carlo was previously married, and Italian law in those days did not recognize divorces. In 1965, Ponti, Sophie, and Giuliana, the first wife of Carlo, traveled together to Paris to finally divorce. As soon as Ponti became an official bachelor, he was not slow to re-offer Lauren's hand and heart, and the couple soon received French citizenship. They had two children, Carlo Ponti Jr in 1968 and Edoardo Ponti in 1973. While on maternity leave, Sophie revised her crazy filming schedule, deciding to pay all the attention to her children.
In 1980, the biography of the actress "Sofia Loren: Living and Loving" ("Sofia Loren: Living and Loving") was released, very quickly sold in huge print runs around the world. The Italian also launched her own perfume line. In 1982, she spent 18 days in prison for tax evasion without further objection. However, in 2013, all charges against the style icon were dropped.
Awards and recognition
Lauren is the champion among the actors in the number of awards received. So, the star boasts six David Di Donatello Prizes in the nomination "Best Actress". In addition to the Oscars, Lauren also received a Grammy, five special Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award and many other symbols of her acting career success. In 1994, she received an honorary 2000 star on the Walk of Fame.
Sophie is a passionate fan of the Naples football team, the Italian recorded more than two dozen songs, including several songs in a duet with Peter Sellers. Is it worth recalling that she repeatedly posed for photographers as a model, including Pirelli calendar photographers in 2007, demonstrating to everyone at 72 years old her amazing figure. Sofia currently lives in Geneva, however she has a house in Naples and in Rome. She devoted several decades to Italian cinema, therefore, like no one else, she is worthy to bear the title of his pearl.
