To write everything about Sophia Loren , it would practically take a separate site. A living legend (at the time of writing) known by all generations: grandparents, children, grandchildren.

Famous throughout the world, it has left a mark in the history of cinema that can hardly be forgotten.

Summary

  • Sophia Loren, the beginnings
  • Sophia Loren, success
  • Sophia Loren, the 2000s
  • Sohpia Loren, private life (with a little curiosity)
  • Sophia Loren film

Sophia Loren, the beginnings

The real names of Sophia Loren and Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone. She was born in Rome on 20 September 1934 but moved to Pozzuoli (province of Naples) due to some problems between her father and her mother.

In fact, precisely for this reason, the Neapolitan blood flows in her bowels and on one occasion I declare:

I’m not Italian, I’m Neapolitan. And one more thing “.

She is so beautiful that at the age of 15 she won a beauty contest and in 1950, instead, she was elected Miss Elegance. From here she begins her career, starting from the base: that is, making an appearance. 

In 1951 he met the producer Carlo Ponti and, thanks also to him, he changed his name to Loren.

The reason?

Give it a more international feel. She starred with Alberto Sordi in the film “Two nights with Cleopatra” (dated 1953 where Loren plays the role of Cleopatra).

Moreover, also in 1953, he is also part of the cast of ‘We are in the gallery’.

Among the many films, it is impossible not to mention “Tempi nostra” with Toto (he will also be part of the very famous ‘Miseria e Nobilta’ in 1954) and “L’Oro di Napoli”, where she plays the part of Sofia.

In “Peccato che e una rogue” he meets Marcello Mastroianni, with whom he starts a fruitful film collaboration. 

In 1955 he acted, with Raf Vallone, in the film “The sign of Venus” (the director and Dino Risi).

Subsequently, and Vittorio De Sica who makes use of Sophia Loren in “Bread, love and …”. In 1956 she again acted with Mastroianni in “The fortune of being a woman”.

The prelude to the success that came already in the 60s.

Sophia Loren, success

Success for Sophia Loren comes inevitable, also given the high quality of the directors she works with and her skill, as well as attractive beauty.

The turning point comes with “La ciociara”, based on the novel by Moravia. Sophia  Loren is only 25 years old and already practically known all over the world. De Sica offers her the main role with which she wins the Oscar, the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the BAFTA, the David di Donatello and the Silver Ribbon.

There are many films in which he starred in a short time: from the colossal “El Cid” to “Boccaccio ’70”, passing through “The billionaire” and “The Bay of Naples”. Also worth mentioning is “The Countess of Hong Kong”, which even includes Charlie Chaplin.

With Mastroianni he participated both in “Yesterday, today, tomorrow”, in 1963, with a striptease to drive crazy and three roles in the same film. The film, thanks also to Loren, receives several awards while Sophia wins the David di Donatello.

The following year, however, is the turn of ” Italian wedding”  with Vittorio De Sica. Here she plays the role of a prostitute: and masterful in this interpretation because she also touches psychological strings. So much so that she too receives an Oscar nomination for the role of Best Actress.

With Mastroianni and De Sica he also shoots, in 1964, “I girasoli”, while in 1971 he starred with Mario Monicelli in “La commedia”. With Dino Risi, on the other hand, he tries his hand at “The priest’s wife”. In short, all the best Italian directors have had, at least once, as an actress, Sophia Loren. 

In 1974 he won the fifth David di Donatello thanks to the film “The journey together with Richard Burton”.

Three years later, however, the ‘Ciak’ is by Ettore Scola with “A special day” (there is always Mastroianni in the cast): this is how Donatello’s sixth David wins. 

In the 1980s the slow and inexorable abandonment of films begins, taking care of being present on TV instead.

In 1991 he won the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 1994 he returned to the cinema with “Pret a porter”, replicating the striptease he had already done in a previous film.  

Sophia Loren, the 2000s

And Sophia Loren the testimonial for the advertising campaign that sees the official farewell to the lira in 2001. In the same year, she participates in the fiction “Francesca e Nunziata” while three years later she is paired with Sabrina Ferilli in “The land of the return” .

Among the advertisements in which he participated, mention should be made of the one for TIM and, in 2006, at the age of 62, he posed for the Pirelli calendar.

In 2009 he returned to the cinema with “Nine”, a tribute to Fellini. The following year, however, and on TV with the miniseries “My house is full of mirrors”. 

What is missing from your extraordinary career?

The dubbing, which takes place in 2011 with the Disney-Pixar film “Cars 2”, where she has the role of Mother Mickey.

Last mention for an advertisement in which he participated in 2016 , where the direction of Tornatore and the music of Morricone is present, in the fantastic setting of Bagheria, in Sicily, and for his son’s film, shot in 2020. 

Sohpia Loren, private life (with a little curiosity)

Sophia Loren and the aunt of Alessandra Mussolini, former parliamentarian and nephew of the Duce. Yes, you read that right: the actress’s sister, Maria, marries Romano Mussolini, Benito’s youngest son with whom she had  two children, one of which is, in fact, Alessandra.

As for Loren, in 1957 she married Carlo Ponti at the age of 23 (he was almost 50). But Ponti was already married and, for this reason, they are accused of bigamy. Other times.

They got married twice because the first de facto marriage in 1962 was canceled. The second marriage is held in 1966.

Ponti and Loren had two children , whose name is Carlo Ponti Jr. The other, Edoardo, and a director.

In 2007 Ponti died of lung problems: Loren, unlike other actresses of the time, got married only once.

Among the flirtations, however, that Loren had in her single life, it should be mentioned the one with Cary Grant, a very famous British actor, naturalized from the United States. 

Sophia Loren film

Here is all the filmography of Sophia Loren, in chronological order:

  1. Hearts on the Sea, directed by Giorgio Bianchi (1950) – as Sofia Scicolone
  2. Il voto, directed by Mario Bonnard (1950) – as Sofia Scicolone
  3. Tototarzan, directed by Mario Mattoli (1950) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  4. The Six Wives of Bluebeard, by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia (1950) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  5. Luci del varieta, directed by Federico Fellini and Alberto Lattuada (1950) – like Sofia Lazzaro
  6. White leprosy, directed by Enzo Trapani (1951) – as Sofia Scicolone
  7. I am the Capataz, directed by Giorgio Simonelli (1951) – like Sophia Lazzaro
  8. Billionaire Milan, directed by Vittorio Metz, Marcello Marchesi and Marino Girolami (1951) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  9. Quo vadis, by Mervyn LeRoy (1951) – uncredited
  10. The Master of Steam, directed by Mario Mattoli (1951) – as Sophia Lazzaro
  11. The Wizard of Strength, directed by Vittorio Metz, Marcello Marchesi and Marino Girolami (1951) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  12. It was him, yes, yes!, Directed by Vittorio Metz, Marcello Marchesi and Marino Girolami (1951) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  13. Anna, directed by Alberto Lattuada (1951) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  14. The tuner has arrived, directed by Duilio Coletti (1952) – like Sofia Lazzaro
  15. Zorro’s Dream, directed by Mario Soldati (1952) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  16. The Favorite, directed by Cesare Barlacchi (1952) – as Sofia Lazzaro
  17. The white trade, directed by Luigi Comencini (1952) – like Sofia Lazzaro
  18. Africa under the sea, by Giovanni Roccardi (1953)
  19. Aida, directed by Clemente Fracassi (1953)
  20. We are in the gallery, directed by Mauro Bolognini (1953)
  21. Good People Sunday, by Anton Giulio Majano (1953)
  22. A Day in the District Court, by Steno (1953)
  23. Neapolitan Carousel, directed by Ettore Giannini (1954)
  24. Country of Bells, by Jean Boyer (1954)
  25. Two Nights with Cleopatra, by Mario Mattoli (1954)
  26. Our times – Zibaldone n. 2, directed by Alessandro Blasetti (1954)
  27. Misery and Nobility, by Mario Mattoli (1954)
  28. Pilgrims of love, by Andrea Forzano (1954)
  29. Attila, directed by Pietro Francisci (1954)
  30. The Gold of Naples, by Vittorio De Sica (1954)
  31. Too bad it’s a rogue, directed by Alessandro Blasetti (1954)
  32. The River Woman, by Mario Soldati (1954)
  33. The Sign of Venus, by Dino Risi (1955)
  34. The beautiful miller, by Mario Camerini (1955)
  35. Bread, love and …, directed by Dino Risi (1955)
  36. The Fortune of Being a Woman, by Alessandro Blasetti (1955)
  37. Boy on a Dolphin, by Jean Negulesco (1957)
  38. Pride and the Passion (The Pride and the Passion), directed by Stanley Kramer (1957)
  39. Timbuctu (Legend of the Lost), regia di Henry Hathaway (1957)
  40. Desire Under the Elms, by Delbert Mann (1958)
  41. The Key, by Carol Reed (1958)
  42. The Black Orchid, directed by Martin Ritt (1958)
  43. A Husband for Cinzia (Houseboat), by Melville Shavelson (1958)
  44. That Kind of Woman, by Sidney Lumet (1959)
  45. The Devil in Pink Shorts (Heller in Pink Tights), by George Cukor (1960)
  46. Olympia (A Breath of Scandal), regia di Michael Curtiz (1960)
  47. La baia di Napoli (It Started in Naples), directed by Melville Shavelson (1960)
  48. The Millionairess, by Anthony Asquith (1960)
  49. La ciociara, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1960)
  50. El Cid, by Anthony Mann (1961)
  51. Madame Sans-Gene, directed by Christian-Jaque (1961)
  52. Boccaccio ’70, episode La riffa, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1962)
  53. The knife in the wound, directed by Anatole Litvak (1962)
  54. The kidnapped of Altona, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1962)
  55. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1963)
  56. Italian wedding, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1964)
  57. The Fall of the Roman Empire, by Anthony Mann (1964)
  58. Operation Crossbow, directed by Michael Anderson (1965)
  59. Lady L, directed by Peter Ustinov (1965)
  60. Judith, regia in Daniel Mann (1966)
  61. Arabesque, directed by Stanley Donen (1966)
  62. A Countess from Hong Kong, by Charlie Chaplin (1967)
  63. Once Upon a Time, by Francesco Rosi (1967)
  64. These ghosts, by Renato Castellani (1967)
  65. Sunflowers, by Vittorio De Sica (1970)
  66. The Priest’s Wife, by Dino Risi (1970)
  67. Mortadella, directed by Mario Monicelli (1971)
  68. White, red and…, directed by Alberto Lattuada (1972)
  69. Man of La Mancha, by Arthur Hiller (1972)
  70. The journey, directed by Vittorio De Sica (1974)
  71. The accusation is: rape and murder (Verdict), directed by Andre Cayatte (1974)
  72. La pupa del gangster, directed by Giorgio Capitani (1975)
  73. Cassandra Crossing (The Cassandra Crossing), directed by George Pan Cosmatos (1976)
  74. A special day, directed by Ettore Scola (1977)
  75. Angela, by Boris Sagal (1978)
  76. Made of blood between two men for the sake of a widow. Political Motives Suspected, by Lina Wertmuller (1978)
  77. Obiettivo “Brass” (Brass target), directed by John Hough (1978)
  78. Firepower, directed by Michael Winner (1979)
  79. Something blond, directed by Maurizio Ponzi (1984)
  80. Ready-to-Wear, Regal di Robert Altman (1994)
  81. That’s Amore – Two improbable seducers (Grumpier Old Men), directed by Howard Deutch (1995)
  82. Soleil, regia di Roger Hanin (1997)
  83. Between Strangers, directed by Edoardo Ponti (2002)
  84. Stuffed Peppers and Fish in the Face, by Lina Wertmuller (2004)
  85. Nine, regia di Rob Marshall (2009)
  86. Human voice (medium-length film), directed by Edoardo Ponti (2013)
  87. Life in front of you, directed by Edoardo Ponti (2020)

On TV instead appears in the following works:

  1. Romeo and Juliet ’70, directed by Michael Pfleghar (1969) – Series TV
  2. Brief Encounter, directed by Alan Bridges (1974) – Film TV
  3. Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) – Documentario TV
  4. Mother Courage (1986) – TV movie
  5. Mamma Lucia, directed by Stuart Cooper (1988) – TV miniseries
  6. La ciociara, directed by Dino Risi (1989) – TV miniseries
  7. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, directed by Lina Wertmuller (1990) – Film TV
  8. Francesca e Nunziata, directed by Lina Wertmuller (2001) – TV film
  9. The land of the return, directed by Jerry Ciccoritti (2004) – Film TV
  10. My house is full of mirrors, directed by Vittorio Sindoni (2010) – TV miniseries

Dubbing works

  1. Cars 2 directed by Brad Lewis and John Lasseter (2011) – animated film

Beautiful, good, who has not forgotten her origins: Sophia Loren will remain in the history of cinema for decades to come.