Sophia Loren - biography

early years

Actress Sofia Villani Scicolone was born in Italy, in Rome, on September 20, 1934. Her father, Riccardo Scicolone, who called himself a design engineer, spent most of his time hanging around the outskirts of show business in the hope of an affair with some young actress. One of them was Sophia Loren's mother, Romilda Villani. Villani, who bore a striking resemblance to Greta Garbo, was once even offered a trip to America to become Garbo's understudy, but her mother refused to let her go.

After Sophie was born, her mother took her to her hometown of Pozzuoli on the Bay of Naples, which one guidebook describes as “the poorest town in Italy.” Despite the fact that Villani and Riccardo Scicolone had another child, they were not officially married. On this occasion, Lauren’s mother said this: “This pig could have married me completely freely, but he chose to leave me and marry someone else.” Despite the fact that Sophie is still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, in her earliest memories she describes herself as “the ugliest child I have ever seen.” Quiet, withdrawn, Sofia grew up in extreme poverty. Together with numerous relatives, they lived in the house of their mother’s parents, where the girl had to share one room among nine. Things got even worse when the already poor town of Pozzuoli was devastated by the Second World War.

The famine that broke out took on such catastrophic proportions that Sofia’s mother had to decant water from the car’s radiator, and then, spoon by spoon, divide it between her daughters. During another aerial bombardment, Lauren fell and severely cut her cheek. The scar from this wound will remain with her for the rest of her life.

Nicknamed “Reed” by her classmates for her frail physique, at the age of 14 Sophie suddenly blossomed, turning from a frail child into a beautiful, sensual woman. “Just walking down the street became a real pleasure,” Lauren recalls of her sudden physical transformation. This year she comes in second in a beauty pageant, winning a small amount of cash and free wallpaper to redecorate the living room of her family home.

In 1950, when the girl was already 15, she and her mother went to Rome to try their luck in the acting field. In 1951, Lauren received the role of an extra in Mervyn LeRoy's film Camo Are Coming. At the same time, Sophie gets a job as a model for fumetti - Italian publications similar to comic book collections, in which live photographs are used instead of drawings. And so, after several episodes and a small role in the film “The Favorite,” released in 1952, the first in which she appeared under the pseudonym “Lauren,” in 1953 she brilliantly played the main role in the film “Aida.”

Another major role, in the film “The Gold of Naples” (1954), established Lauren as the most promising star of Italian cinema.

Biography of Sophia Loren

Sophie's father was an actor in a traveling theater. After the birth of her daughter, the mother of the future actress followed him to Rome, but the man never married her. Sophie and her mother returned to a small town near Naples, Pozzuoli. Sophie Scicolone spent her entire childhood there. At the age of 14, she won the local beauty contest “Princess of the Sea”, after which she moved with her mother back to Rome. Because of her thinness, Sophie received the nickname “Stechetto” - “perch”.

“Perch” won the title at a national beauty contest in Rome and began to work successfully as a model. But their common dream with their mother was cinema.

Sophie starred in episodic roles, gained experience and connections, and finally she was offered a major role in the film “Africa Beyond the Seas”! At the same time, the pseudonym Lauren was born - the director did not like the sound of the Scicolone surname.

Outstanding Career Achievement

In 1957, Sophia Loren received a role in her first Hollywood film, “The Pride and the Passion,” filmed in Paris, where her partners on the set would be Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. And at the same time, she becomes involved in a love triangle with Grant and Italian film producer Carlo Ponti. And, although Lauren, as a girl, was selflessly in love with Grant, she ultimately chooses Ponty - a man who, as the press joked, was twice her age and half her height.

In the same 1957, they got married, but the problems that arose with the dissolution of Ponti’s first marriage would prevent the official recognition of their marriage in Italy for another ten years. However, the union of Lauren and Ponti remains one of those touching stories with a happy ending that are so rare among celebrities. They were married for 50 years, until Ponti's death in 2007. According to Lauren herself, the secret of their happiness was that, despite their celebrity status, they never flaunted their relationship. “Show business is what we do, not who we really are,” she said.

In 1960, Sophia Loren played the most significant role of her career - in a film about World War II in Italy called Two Women. In this film, which echoes her own childhood, she appears as a mother desperately trying to feed her child in war-torn Rome. This picture, for which Lauren received an Oscar for Best Leading Actress in 1961, brought her worldwide fame. Sophia Loren becomes the first actress to win an award for a foreign language film.

Over the next decade, Lauren continued to star in Italian, American and French films, establishing her status as one of the brightest stars of international cinema of her generation. Her most notable roles during this period were her roles in the films “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” (1963) - Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Marriage Italian Style (1964) - Oscar for Best Actress , and “A Countess from Hong Kong” (1967), in which Marlon Brando became Lauren’s partner on the set.

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Family and other projects

In the 70s, Sophia Loren returned to her native Italy, where she spent most of her time starring in Italian films that had become extremely popular. By that time, Sophie had become the mother of two sons, Carlo Hubert Leone Ponti (born December 29, 1968) and Edoardo (born January 6, 1973), and in the 80s, Sophie significantly reduced her busy filming schedule in order to be able to devote more time for older children.

In addition to cinema, Lauren has business projects. In 1981, she became the first female celebrity to launch her own perfume, followed by her own line of eye shadow. In 1994, Lauren published the book “Woman and Beauty.” She continues to act and make frequent public appearances - one of the film industry's greatest living legends. The most famous of her recent works are the films “High Fashion” (1994), “Grumpy Old Men” (1995) and “Nine” (2009).

Diseases, pests and ways to combat them

Rose Sophia Loren has a high immunity to fungal diseases, but they cannot resist some insect pests. This:

• aphid;
• leaf roller;
• scale insect;
• pennitsa.

The main thing is to promptly detect the presence of these parasites and begin to fight them. Control is carried out using insecticides.

Sophia Loren is an incredibly beautiful variety of roses that will decorate any garden plot. It should not be grown by young, inexperienced flower growers, since this rose is very demanding to care for.

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To this day, Sophia Loren retains her youthful energy and timeless, chiseled figure. And now she still walks along the red carpet of award ceremonies in high heels and in such short skirts that even those who are much younger than her would feel awkward in them. Despite starring in over a hundred films and five decades in the spotlight, Lauren remains true to her humble Italian roots. Probably the surest confirmation of this is that her best, most brilliant roles have always been the roles of worthy women, and not stunning ones. As one director recently noted, "Sophia Loren is perhaps the only movie star who has never forgotten where she came from."

Today, Lauren lives in Switzerland, in Geneva, and still sees the world in the light of beauty: “I always wake up early and immediately jump out of bed - sometimes reluctantly, because every day you can find new excuses for your laziness - and devote an hour to a walk . And every time, walking through the park, I think: “What if now, around the corner, I meet something beautiful?” I always think positively. I can hardly be found in a state of sadness or melancholy.”

Movies

At first, the actress had to play miniature roles in the films “The Dream of Zorro”, “The Six Wives of Bluebeard”, “Yes, Yes, It Was Him” and “Two Nights with Cleopatra”. She starred in these films under the pseudonym Sofia Lazarro. In 1953, the famous producer Carlo Ponti suggested that the girl change her surname to Lauren, since it went better with her name, and was also consonant with the surname of the Belgian actress Martha Thoren, who was at the peak of popularity at that time.

Sophia Loren (still from the film “Chochara”)

Ponti did not limit himself to just changing his pseudonym. The film producer rid Sophie of her Neapolitan accent, instilled a taste for dramatic literature, introduced the famous gait with swaying hips, and changed the style of makeup. The only thing Sophia Loren refused was plastic surgery to reduce her nose.

Such changes quickly bore fruit. Sophia Loren became a famous actress after the release of several films: “Attila”, “The Gold of Naples”, “Ciochara”, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, “Marriage Italian Style”, “House Boat” and “Sunflowers”. His partners on the set were Anthony Quinn, Cary Grant, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Marcello Mastroianni. The duet with Mastroianni is still called the best in the history of world cinema. Sophie considered her colleague almost a brother; it was a great pleasure for her to act in 14 projects with such an impulsive, God-gifted person.

Sophia Loren (still from the film “Marriage Italian Style”)

Since the late 50s, Hollywood producers and directors began inviting the actress to participate in the filming of films. Lauren almost always agreed, but the Italian's performance in Hollywood films did not receive rave reviews. Sophie suggested that she might have made a career in America if she had started there and taken that film production system for granted, but she arrived as an already accomplished person. Across the ocean, Lauren felt like a stranger and could not adapt to the American way of life.

In Europe, Sophia Loren managed to achieve greater results. Over the next 15 years, she works with almost all the iconic actors of the American stage.

Viewers especially remembered his collaborations with Frank Sinatra in the film “The Pride and the Passion”, Clark Gable in the romantic comedy “It Started in Naples”, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando in the film “The Countess from Hong Kong”, which was the last for the great comedian. In addition, Sophia Loren participated in the filming with Anthony Perkins in the melodrama “Love Under the Elms”, Paul Newman in the psychological film “Lady L.”, Richard Burton in the melodrama “The Trip”, as well as Jean Gabin in the film “The Verdict”.

Sophia Loren - photos from her personal life

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Sophia Loren (Sophia Loren; real name: Sofia Villani Scicolone, Italian: Sofia Villani Scicolone; born September 20, 1934, Rome) is an Italian actress and singer. Winner of honorary awards at all major film festivals - Cannes (1961), Venice (1958, 1998), Moscow (1965, 1997), Berlin (1994). Winner of the Best Actress Prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival (1974). Winner of five Golden Globe awards (in the special category “favorite of the world audience”). First winner of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film (1961). Winner of an honorary Oscar (1991) with the wording “for a career rich in memorable roles that gave an unfading shine to cinema.” Sofia Scicolone was born in Rome. Soon after her birth, the family moved to the small fishing town of Pozzuoli near Naples, where Sofia spent her childhood and youth. In her youth, she was called “Stecchetto”, which means “Perch” - for her tall stature and thinness. Her first step to fame was winning a local beauty contest at the age of fourteen, after which Sofia’s family moved to Rome. In 1950, she participated in the Miss Italy competition, where she received the Miss Elegance prize, established by the jury especially for her. While participating in the next competition, Sofia met the producer and her future husband Carlo Ponti, who was twenty-two years older than her. Ponti was married at that time, and for a Catholic, getting a divorce was very difficult. Desperate to wait for the Vatican to approve the divorce, Carlo and Sofia secretly married in Mexico. As time passed, the long-awaited divorce was obtained, and on April 9, 1966, Carlo remarried Sofia. Initially, Ponti positioned his chosen one as a sex bomb in such little-known films as The White Slave Trade (1953). Often, these films took place in exotic settings, giving Lauren the opportunity to parade in front of audiences in elaborate outfits. On the other hand, the future superstar was not shy about nudity, so she could be seen topless in a number of films. In the early 1960s, Carlo Ponti bought all of young Lauren's films in which she was naked, in order to avoid an international scandal. By the mid-1950s, Sofia had become a star and sex symbol in Italy. Initially, the actress acted under the pseudonym Sofia Lazzaro (Italian: Lazzaro), but in 1953, at the insistence of Ponti, she changed it to Lauren. Lauren's first film released outside of Italy was Attila the Scourge of God (1955) with Anthony Quinn. Lauren first attracted the attention of serious film critics in Vittorio de Sica's film The Gold of Naples (1954), in which she found herself in her native element, playing an energetic Neapolitan shopkeeper. The roles of ordinary women from the people, whom she knew well in childhood and one of whom she could have become, worked best for her and evoked the most favorable reviews from critics. It was de Sica who fully discovered Sophia Loren's acting talent. Almost all of the most significant roles were played by her in the films of this director - “Chochara” with Jean-Paul Belmondo (1961, Cannes Festival prize and Oscar for Best Actress), “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” (1963), “Marriage” in Italian" (1964, prize at the Moscow Festival), "Sunflowers" (1970). In the last three films, Sofia Loren's partner was Marcello Mastroianni, with whom they formed one of the most famous duets in the history of cinema. The pinnacle of Sofia Loren's acting skills was playing the role of the mother in "Chochar" - a neorealist film based on the novel by Alberto Moravia. In one of the climactic scenes, the heroine Lauren becomes a victim of brutal violence. Lauren's acting expressiveness and organic nature made such an impression on overseas film critics that she was awarded an Oscar for this role. This is the first time that the award in this category has been awarded to a film not made in English. Since 1957, Lauren regularly received offers to act in Hollywood. She worked actively, although not very successfully, at the American Dream Factory, under contracts with the likes of Paramount Pictures. One of her first Hollywood films was The Pride and the Passion with Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant (1957). Much has been written about Grant’s love for the Italian actress, but little is known for certain. There was also a lot of speculation regarding marriage proposals from the English actor Peter Sellers. According to some biographers, these were all just publicity stunts. For the filming of the western “Devil in Pink Tights” (1960), the actress dyed her hair blonde for the first time. For the disastrous saga “The Fall of the Roman Empire,” she was one of the first in the world to receive a hitherto unheard-of fee of a million dollars. In 1967, she had the opportunity to play a Russian prostitute in the last film of the great Charlie Chaplin, “The Countess from Hong Kong.” For fifteen years (1957-72), Lauren managed to work with almost all of the most popular actors and sex symbols in Hollywood: Anthony Perkins (Love Under the Elms, 1958), Anthony Quinn (The Black Orchid, 1958), Clark Gable ( It Started in Naples, 1960), Peter Sellers (Millionaires, 1961), Charlton Heston (El Cid, 1961), Alec Guinness (The Fall of the Roman Empire, 1964), Paul Newman (Lady L. ", 1965), Gregory Peck (Arabesque, 1966), Marlon Brando (A Countess from Hong Kong, 1967), Peter O'Toole (Man of La Mancha, 1972), Richard Burton (Ride, 1974) and Jean Gabin (“The Verdict”, 1974). In 1994, she starred with Mastroianni for the last time in Robert Ohl's film, and in 1996 she played with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the American comedy The Grumpy Old Men Gone Wild. In 2002, she starred in the film of her son Eduardo Ponti, Just Between Us, playing a supporting role. Despite her success in cinema, Sofia Loren's life was marred by the absence of children and two miscarriages. For several years she underwent infertility treatment, as a result of which she gave birth to a son, Carlo Ponti Jr. (now conductor of the Vienna Orchestra), in 1968, and four years later, a second son, Eduardo (director). In the second half of the 1970s, Lauren appeared in films less and less, and since 1984, her roles became completely isolated. In 1979-80 she published an autobiographical book and produced a television film based on it. In 1982, she was sentenced to 18 days in prison for tax evasion. Over the following years, she wrote another book of memoirs and founded a perfume series. In 1999, her book “Recipes and Memories” was published.