Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone at the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome, Italy, on September 20, 1934. Her father, Riccardo Scicolone, 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 much sadness in her childhood. Her life took an unexpected turn for the best when, at age 14, she entered into a beauty contest where she placed as one of the finalists. It was there that Sophia caught the attention of film producer Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she eventually married in 1966 once he finally obtained a divorce from his first wife. Perhaps he was the only father figure she ever had. Under his guidance, Sophia was put under contract and appeared as an extra in ten films beginning in 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 (1953) and Aïda (1953). In 1957, she embarked on a successful acting career in the United States, starring in Ombres sous la mer (1957), La cité disparue (1957), and Orgueil et passion (1957) that year. She had a short-lived but much-publicized fling with co-star Cary Grant, who was 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 La péniche du bonheur (1958). While under contract to Paramount Pictures, Sophia starred in Désir sous les ormes (1958), La clé (1958), L'orchidée noire (1958), C'est arrivé à Naples (1960), La diablesse en collant rose (1960), Un scandale à la cour (1960), and Les dessous de la millionnaire (1960) before returning to Italy to star in La ciociara (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 in the role of the daughter, Sophia fought against type and was re-cast as the mother, proving herself as a genuine actress and displaying her lack of vanity. 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 American films included Le Cid (1961), La chute de l'Empire romain (1964), Arabesque (1966), L'homme de la Manche (1972), and Le pont de Cassandra (1976). She gained a wider respect with her Italian films, especially Mariage à l'italienne (1964) and Une journée particulière (1977). 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 Jr. (born 1969) and Eduardo (born 1973). Her only acting credits during the decade were five television films, beginning with Sophia Loren (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 eye wear. 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." Later that year, she experienced a great loss when her mother Romilda died of cancer at age 77. Her return to mainstream films in Prêt-à-porter (1994) ("Ready to Wear") 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 Les grincheux 2 (1995) in which she played a sexy divorcée who seduces Walter Matthau. Over the next decade Sophia had plum roles in a few non-mainstream arthouse films like Soleil (1997), Coeurs inconnus (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 loss of her spouse, Carlo Ponti, who died at age 94. In 2009, after far too much time away from film, she appeared in the musical Nine (2009) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis.
These days Sophia divides her time between Switzerland and Los Angeles where she is close to her sons and their families (Eduardo is married to actress Sasha Alexander). Despite her position as showbiz royalty, she relishes her discrete, low-profile lifestyle, claiming throughout the years "Showbusiness is what I do, not what I am." With a career that has already spanned six decades and been honored with 50 awards, Sophia Loren remains one of the most beloved and recognizable figures in the international film world.
