Sophia Loren facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sophia Loren
L.d'H. OMRI
|
|
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
Loren at the Transilvania International Film Festival in 2016
|
|
| Born |
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone
20 September 1934 Rome, Kingdom of Italy
|
| Other names | Sofia Lazzaro |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1950–2020 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Carlo Ponti Jr. Edoardo Ponti |
| Relatives | Maria Scicolone (sister) Romano Mussolini (brother-in-law) Alessandra Mussolini (niece) Romano Floriani Mussolini (grandnephew) Sasha Alexander (daughter-in-law) Mariam Sharmanashvili (daughter-in-law) |
Sophia Loren (born Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone on September 20, 1934) is a famous Italian actress. She has starred in movies in both Italy and the United States. With a career that lasted over 70 years, she is one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
After entering a beauty pageant as a teenager, she was encouraged to take acting lessons. Loren started her film career in 1950 at the age of 16. At first, she had small roles in movies. In 1956, she signed a contract with Paramount, which made her an international star. Some of her famous films from this time include The Pride and the Passion, Houseboat, and It Started in Naples.
Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a mother in the Italian film Two Women (1960). This was a historic moment because she was the first person to win an Oscar for a performance in a non-English language film. She has also won many other awards, including five special Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award. In 1991, she received an Academy Honorary Award for her lifetime of achievements in film.
Contents
Early Life
Childhood in Italy
Sophia Loren was born in Rome, Italy. Her mother, Romilda Villani, was a piano teacher. Her father was Riccardo Scicolone Murillo. Her parents did not marry, so her mother raised Sophia and her younger sister, Maria, on her own. They lived with their grandmother in the town of Pozzuoli, near Naples.
During World War II, Pozzuoli was a frequent bombing target. During one attack, Loren was hit by a piece of metal, called shrapnel, which injured her chin. After this, her family moved to Naples for safety.
When the war ended, they returned to Pozzuoli. Her grandmother opened a small pub in their living room. Her mother played the piano, her sister sang, and Loren helped by waiting tables. The pub was popular with American soldiers stationed nearby.
Beauty Pageants
When she was 15, Loren entered a beauty pageant in Naples. She won a prize that included money and a train ticket to Rome. This helped her and her mother move to Rome to look for work in the movies.
Also at 15, Loren competed in the Miss Italia 1950 pageant. She did not win the main title, but she was named "Miss Elegance 1950." Years later, she returned to the pageant as a judge.
Acting Career
Starting in Movies
Loren's mother enrolled her in an acting school. She began getting small, uncredited parts in movies. When she was 16, she was an extra in the big American film Quo Vadis, which was being filmed in Rome.
She was noticed by the film producer Carlo Ponti. He helped her get bigger roles and changed her name to Sophia Loren to appeal to more people. Her first starring role was in the 1953 film Aida. Her breakthrough role came in the 1954 film The Gold of Naples. She also began starring in movies with actor Marcello Mastroianni, and they would go on to make many films together.
Becoming an International Star
In 1958, Loren signed a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures, which made her a star around the world. She starred in American films like Houseboat with Cary Grant and Heller in Pink Tights, where she appeared as a blonde for the first time.
In 1960, she starred in the Italian film Two Women. It tells a difficult story about a mother protecting her young daughter during the war. Loren's powerful performance won her more than 20 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was the first actor ever to win an Oscar for a role in a foreign language film.
Throughout the 1960s, Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world. She starred in major films like El Cid with Charlton Heston, The Millionairess with Peter Sellers, and A Countess from Hong Kong with Marlon Brando, which was directed by the legendary Charlie Chaplin.
Later Career
After becoming a mother in 1968, Loren appeared in fewer films. In the 1970s, she starred in movies like The Voyage with Richard Burton and A Special Day, which earned her another award for her acting.
In the 1980s, she chose to spend more time with her family. She did act in some television movies, including one about her own life called Sophia Loren: Her Own Story. She also launched her own perfume and a line of eyewear.
In the 1990s and 2000s, she continued to act in select films. She appeared in the comedy Grumpier Old Men (1995) and the musical Nine (2009). In 2020, she starred in the film The Life Ahead, which was directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti. Her performance as a Holocaust survivor earned her several awards.
Personal Life
Loren is a Roman Catholic. She lives in Geneva, Switzerland. She is a big fan of the S.S.C. Napoli football (soccer) team.
Marriage and Family
Loren met film producer Carlo Ponti when she was a teenager. They married in 1957. Because of complicated laws in Italy at the time, they had to have their first marriage canceled. They later became French citizens and were officially married again in 1966. They remained married until Ponti's death in 2007.
They had two sons, Carlo Ponti Jr., a conductor, and Edoardo Ponti, a film director. Loren has four grandchildren.
Friendship with Cary Grant
While filming The Pride and the Passion in 1957, Loren became close friends with her co-star, Cary Grant. He had deep feelings for her and hoped they would marry. However, Loren chose to marry Carlo Ponti instead. They remained friends and later starred together in the movie Houseboat.
Images for kids
-
Loren in 1979
-
Loren in 1986, photo by Allan Warren
-
Loren in 2009
-
Loren in 2016
-
Loren with her Volpi Cup in 1958
_(cropped).jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Sophia Loren para niños
