Today marks the 90th birthday of Sophia Loren, the undisputed queen of Italian cinema. A timeless figure on both the national and international stage, Sophia Loren etched her name into the annals of world cinema, emerging as one of the most renowned and influential actresses globally from the 1960s onward. The Italian actress, who holds French citizenship, captivated Hollywood with her beauty and her prowess in portraying a wide array of roles, from comedy to drama.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella expressed his heartfelt wishes on this occasion: "On the occasion of her birthday, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations, along with the gratitude of the Republic for her extraordinary career in film, marked by numerous prestigious national and international accolades." He further added: "Her elegance, charm, and unparalleled acting have defined a multitude of Italian and foreign films, contributing to the finest chapters of cinema history and making her a symbol of Italian beauty and art across the globe."
Born in Rome on September 20, 1934, Sofia Villani Scicolone had a tumultuous childhood. Her mother, Romilda Villani, a piano teacher, and her father, Riccardo Scicolone, an employee of the State Railways, were not married. Her father's absence forced her and her mother to endure precarious economic conditions. In 1932, her mother won a Hollywood competition as a lookalike for the Italian actress Greta Garbo but gave up the opportunity when she became pregnant, returning to Pozzuoli due to financial hardships. Sofia spent her formative years there, experiencing the ravages of World War II firsthand.
Her life took a pivotal turn in 1950 when, at the age of fifteen, Sofia won her first beauty contest. The prize money enabled her and her mother to return to Rome. This victory, however, led her father to accuse her of prostitution, but it also caught the attention of directors and producers. Among them was Carlo Ponti, who would later become her husband. The Franco-Italian film producer offered her a seven-year contract, initiating a professional and personal partnership.
Ponti, then 38 and married with two children, obtained a divorce in Mexico in 1956, as it was not permitted in Italy. In 1965, he officially divorced in France and married Loren. Their marriage, which produced two children, endured until Ponti's death. Following their union, President Georges Pompidou granted them both French citizenship. It was Ponti who suggested she change her surname to Loren, finding it more marketable internationally.
Loren's ambitions extended beyond Italy, and Hollywood took notice. Her film debut came in 1953 alongside prominent figures in Italian cinema. Her first film, Aida, produced by Ponti, was followed by notable works such as Due notti con Cleopatra, L'oro di Napoli, Miseria e nobiltà, and La donna del fiume. In 1954, Loren starred with Marcello Mastroianni in Peccato che sia una canaglia, launching one of Italian cinema's most iconic couples. They reunited in Ieri oggi domani (1963), directed by Vittorio De Sica, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1965.
By the 1960s, Loren had achieved international acclaim, becoming a symbol of Italian beauty worldwide. She starred alongside Hollywood legends such as Cary Grant, William Holden, John Wayne, Paul Newman, and Frank Sinatra. During this period, she also participated in various European film productions, including Madame Sans-Gêne (1961), directed by French filmmaker Christian-Jaque.
From the 1970s, Loren's film appearances diminished as she focused on motherhood. She and Ponti had two sons: Carlo Jr. in 1968 and Edoardo in 1973. Loren has amassed 28 awards and received 9 nominations, including two Oscars. Her role as Cesira in La Ciociara (1960) won her the Best Actress Oscar in 1962, the first non-English-language performance to do so. In 1991, she received an honorary Oscar, along with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 and the David di Donatello in 1999.
Loren holds the record for the most David di Donatello awards for Best Actress, with seven out of eleven total Davids. In 2021, she won her latest David for La vita davanti a sé by her son Edoardo Ponti. Loren has also won five Golden Globe awards, two Venice Film Festival awards, one Cannes Film Festival award, one Berlin Film Festival award, four Nastri d'Argento awards, one BAFTA award, and one César award. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her 21st among the greatest American film actresses of all time.
