Sophia Loren

The one and only Sophia Loren was born Sophia Villani Scicolone on September 20, 1934, in Rome, Italy. Loren grew up in an impoverished family, sharing a cramped flat with her siblings, grandparents, uncles, and aunts. Loren later attributed the hardships of her childhood to building a strong character in adulthood.

At age fifteen, Loren left for Rome and began landing minor roles in a few Italian films. She also worked as a model under the name Sophia Villani and Sofia Lazzaro, and won various beauty pageants. In 1957, Loren married film producer, Carlo Ponti, with whom she had two sons, Carlo Ponti Jr., and Edoardo Ponti.

Loren’s early films, Two Nights with Cleopatra in 1953 and It's Him, Yes! Yes! in 1951 celebrated the actress’s voluptuous figure, and also featured her in topless scenes. By the late 50s, Loren’s star was soaring in Hollywood, thanks to such films as 1957's Boy on a Dolphin and The Pride and the Passion, with Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. Despite the fact that both Loren and Grant were respectively married, Grant proposed to Loren, although the details of their love affair were kept private and are largely unknown today.

By the dawn of the 60s, Loren had garnered critical acclaim for her acting abilities, earning awards at the Cannes, Venice, and Berlin Film festivals; in addition to winning an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also worked alongside some of the most prominent male actors of the time, including Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Anthony Hopkins.

In addition to acting, Loren also recorded over two dozen songs and released a best-selling album of humorous songs with Peter Sellers. Sellers became so infatuated with Loren at this time that he reportedly split from his first wife because of it. Loren has maintained, however, that his romantic interest was not mutual.

Loren’s private life proved to be as interesting to the public as her performances, and her difficulties having children were highly-publicized. After suffering two miscarriages, Loren eventually became a mother, which she described as her biggest accomplishment in life.

In 1980, Loren played the role of both herself and her mother in a made-for-television adaptation of her autobiography. Two years later, Loren made headlines by serving an eighteen-day prison sentence in Italy for evading taxes.

As Loren’s film career slowed down in her 60s, she began focusing on her own line of cook books, eyewear, jewelry, and perfume. However, Loren did not disappear from film altogether, and has since appeared in Robert Altman's Ready to Wear in 1994 as well as the 1995 comedy Grumpier Old Men with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

Loren is currently expected to appear in the upcoming 2007 Pirelli Calendar; however, the seventy-two-year-old icon has countered rumors that she will appear nude.

YUDDY