One of the last living stars of the golden age of Hollywood cinema celebrates her 90th birthday today. Sophia Loren was born on September 20, 1934 and started her film career at the age of 16 in 1950. Here are some interesting facts about her life.
Photo: Profimedia
Sophia Loren’s Childhood and Family
Sophia Loren was born in Rome as Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone. Her mother was a piano teacher and aspiring actress, while her father was a failed engineer who worked for the national railway, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. However, the parents were not married because Sophie’s father refused to do so, he did not even help her mother financially, and he refused to acknowledge Sophie’s sister as his own. The actress didn’t really see him much. She stated in her autobiography that she met him about three times in her life, when she was five, seventeen, and then around the time he was dying.
She almost lost her life during World War II
During World War II, Pozzuoli’s port and munitions plant was a frequent target of air raids. During one of them, little Sophia Loren ran for cover when shrapnel hit her and cut her chin open. Later, her family decided to move to Naples to live with relatives. They did not return to Pozzuoli until after the end of the war.
The beginning of Sophia Loren’s acting career
Originally, Sophia Loren wanted to be involved in modeling and entered Miss Italia 1950. She was among the three finalists and won the title of Miss Elegance 1950. There, she was encouraged to enroll in acting lessons. She then started her film career at the age of 16 with small roles, until in 1956 she signed a contract with Paramlount. That’s when her international career began. She appeared, for example, in films such as Happiness to be a woman., Pride and passion or It started in Naples. Sophia Loren became a sex symbol, but also an Oscar winner.
Photo: Profimedia
Sophia Loren was the first actress to win an Oscar for a foreign language film
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 1960 film Two Women, directed by Vittorio De Sica, becoming the first performer to ever win an Oscar for a performance in a non-English language. She is also the recipient of an Honorary Award at the Oscars in 1991. She has also been nominated for eight Golden Globes and won five of them.
Sophia Loren’s music career
In addition to acting, Sophia was also involved in music. In short, she was not only beautiful, but also versatile. In 1957, she released her first debut single, S’agapò, which became a big hit in Italy. During her career, she recorded several albums and performed alongside singing stars such as Frank Sinatra and Eros Ramazzotti.
She almost became the first Bond girl
Sophia Loren had a very well established career and was an international star loved by audiences. In addition, she was incredibly beautiful. So it is not surprising that she was offered the role of a Bong girl, and not just any, but the very first film Bond girl in history. In the movie The Spy Who Loved Me from 1963 she could play alongside Roger Moore. However, she refused the role then.
Zdroje: Loren, Sofia (2015). Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow; My Life. Atria Books. ISBN 9781476797434., Facts, Secret Italy
