Sophia Loren – a diva turns 90 (September 20)
Published: Sunday, Sep 15th 2024, 09:10
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She is one of the greats from the golden age of cinema. Now the Italian film legend is turning 90 - and doesn't yet know what the family will be doing for her.
When Sophia Loren won her first Oscar in 1962, she was in bed. Despite being nominated, she had stayed in Rome because no foreigner had ever won the award for best leading role in a foreign film in Hollywood. Moreover, the competition was enormous: Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" alone.
But then the phone rang in Rome in the middle of the night. It was Cary Grant, with whom she had more in common than just two films. He shouted into the receiver: "Sophia, you've won, won, won."
And another Oscar
That was one of the great moments of happiness in Sophia Loren's life. Considering her background, there were plenty of them. Sofia Villani Scicolone, born in Rome in 1934, grew up near Naples, without a father, in poor circumstances, in the middle of the war, and became a world star. Three decades after the war drama "And yet they live", for which she was honored in 1962, she received another Oscar: for lifetime achievement. She turns 90 on Friday (September 20).
And there is no question: she is a true diva, perhaps the last of the great era of cinema. All in all, Loren made more than 100 films, from Italian comedies to European auteur cinema and Hollywood. Her classic scene: a tall, beautiful woman with cat eyes and a generous cleavage, walking in giant strides on high heels.
Cary Grant failed with marriage proposal
She was the embodiment of grandeur, self-confidence and sex appeal. She never shot nude photos. "I'm not exactly tiny," she explained. "If Sophia Loren is naked, that's a lot of nudity."
She could even afford to turn down a marriage proposal from the great heartbreaker Cary Grant. Instead, she married a fellow countryman, 20 centimetres shorter and 21 years older than her: the film producer Carlo Ponti, who had discovered her in the 1950 "Miss Rome" competition. (She came second).
The two were together for more than half a century. After Ponti's death in 2007, she said: "I chose Carlo because he belonged to my world, to my people. Marrying someone who is not Italian, not from my home town: I would have been completely lost."
Marcello Mastroianni as favorite partner
In film, Marcello Mastroianni was her favorite partner, Italian too and another heartbreaker of international cinema. The two made 13 films together, including "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", "Wedding in Italian" and "Prêt-à-Porter".
And "A Special Day": May 3, 1938, when Adolf Hitler comes to Rome for a meeting with the other fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Meanwhile, the wife (Loren) of a Roman fascist meets a gay man (Mastroianni) who is about to be deported. She describes this movie as her best.
Drama surrounding miscarriages
Despite all her success, there were also difficult phases in her life. Ponti was initially married to someone else and divorce was still taboo in Italy at the time. It was not until 1966 that they entered into a legally binding marriage. They both took French citizenship. It also took some time before they had children. Loren had several miscarriages, which she made no secret of.
She once told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper: "I had wanted children since I was 16 and only had my first child at 34, Eduardo at 38. You can imagine how long I suffered." She had to lie in bed for eight months with both pregnancies. Carlo Ponti junior is now a conductor. Eduardo became a director and also filmed with his mother.
18 days in prison
Her unpleasant experiences also included being sent to prison for 18 days in 1982 for tax evasion. At 73, she had herself photographed in erotic poses for the legendary Pirelli calendar. For some years now, however, Loren has done very little filming. One of her last appearances was in the Netflix film "What would Sophia Loren do?": an encounter with a US housewife for whom she is a great role model.
Now she spends most of her time in her villa on Lake Geneva. A restaurant chain bears her name and she also publishes cookbooks. This gives her the opportunity to repeat her decades-old saying about her own figure: "I owe everything you see to spaghetti."
Serious fall a year ago
A year ago, shortly after her 89th birthday, she suffered several fractures to her hip in a fall at her villa and had to have an operation. Things have been quiet around her since then. Last month, however, she spoke out again in an interview in the daily newspaper "Corriere della Sera".
Of course, this also included the question of what her 90th birthday would look like. Loren's answer was very Italian. "My family is keeping the celebrations a secret. But I'm sure there will be lots of love, laughter, music and good food."
©Keystone/SDA
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