Sophia Loren

Italian actress and lifelong beauty, considered by some as the world's eighth natural wonder. Sultry and haughty, with eyes that are dark almonds, she has the full body of a woman, not that of the skinny girls favored by fashion mavens. With not only beauty, she has style and wit, keeping her in the forefront of films for over 50 years. An illegitimate child, she grew up in a Naples slum in dire wartime poverty. Her mom, a frustrated actress, instilled star aspirations in the skinny little Sofia, nicknamed "the stick" at the time. At 14, she entered the first of several beauty contests. In 1949, she and her mom both appeared as extras in "Quo Vadis," as well as other films. In the "Miss Italy" contest, she won the title of "Miss Elegance." She was not quite 15 when she met Carlo Ponti, the producer, when he was the judge on a contest. He signed her to a contract and began her grooming for a film career. Ponti was married and 21 years her senior, but it was the start of a lifelong partnership that produced most of her five dozen films and their two sons. They were married in 1957, after he had a Mexican divorce, but in Catholic Italy, their marriage was not recognized and Ponti was charged with bigamy. They were forced to have their marriage annulled in 1962 and went through four more years of frustration before turning in their Italian passports and becoming citizens of France, where they were legally married in 1966. With Ponti's help, Loren began by playing bit parts in 1950. In 1955 she made "Too Bad She's Bad," the first of a dozen films with Marcello Mastroianni. Speaking little English, in 1957 she was cast as a peasant girl in "The Pride and The Passion" with Cary Grant. There were rumors that Grant, married at the time, had asked her to marry him, but she turned him down. She starred with Charlton Heston in "El Cid" in 1961, and won the Oscar for "Two Women" the same year. Being too nervous to attend the ceremony, she learned of her honor when Cary Grant called to give her the good news. A string of flops in the early 1960's became negligible when her status as both an international sex symbol and a respected artist were confirmed in "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," 1963 and "Marriage Italian Style," 1964. By the '90s she had appeared in more than 50 films. When she arrived in Hollywood to film "Grumpier Old Men" with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in 1995, director Howard Deutch learned of her fierce sense of her position. She remained in her car as the maitre d' informed Deutch that she was waiting to be escorted inside. Turning to writing in 1972, her beauty book "In The Kitchen With Love," was a success and her 1979 autobiography "Living and Loving" was a best seller. Loren's most recent writing project was "Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories" published in October 1998. A very emotional person, Loren has fought to have a marriage and family. After two miscarriages, her first son, Carlo Jr., was born in 1968 (now an orchestra conductor) and second son, Edoardo, was born four years later (now a film director). She always gives priority to family and to love. When her father died in 1976 she felt nothing as she was not close to him, but when her mother collapsed and died in her arms at age 82 in 1991 it was the saddest experience she had ever had. In a life filled with ups and downs, struggles and scandals, Loren has been scrutinized in the popular press; had her jewels stolen; spent 17 days in an Italian jail in 1982 for underpaying her taxes in the 1960's; made millions with her Sophia perfume and her eyewear line; and served as a United Nations ambassador on behalf of the world's needy in 1992. Through all these events she still retains astonishing grace and the Italian looks which once defined exotic beauty. On her own behalf she has been quoted as saying, "I was born old, I never really had a childhood," and "I never regretted much in my life." After hospitalization on 8/16/1998 for an irregular heart beat she has changed some of her habits. She spends about 90 minutes a day walking and is in bed by eight. Sophia and Carlo now spend time on their 40-acre ranch in Southern California and in their five-bedroom apartment in Geneva, Switzerland. When in public, Loren is the epitome of glamour and style, but privately, she and her husband try to live private lives away from the usual glitz and glitter of acting notoriety. Her first grandchild was born on May 12, 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland to Loren's youngest son Edoardo and his fiancee sasha Alexander. The child's name is Lucia Sofia. Her aged husband, suffering from Parkinson's disease and pulmonary complications died at age 94 in a Geneva, Switzerland hospital on January 9, 2007. Link to Wikipedia biography