Sophia Loren – Net Worth, Age, Young Pictures, Wiki

Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone, Dama di Gran Croce OMRI, known popularly by her stage name of Sophia Loren, is a famous Italian actress and singer. Loren made her acting debut in 1951 and rose to prominence in 1953 for her work in the film ‘Aida’. By 1954, Loren had become one of the most successful actresses of her generation, after she gave a powerful performance in the film ”The Gold in Naples’. She was signed by Paramount Pictures in 1958 and remained one of the most sought after and highly paid actresses in the 1960s.

Early Life

Loren was born as Sofia Villani Scicolone on 20 September 1934 in Rome, Italy as the first child of unwed parents aspiring actress/piano teacher Romilda Villani and construction engineer Riccardo Scicolone, who belonged to a noble family, was married to another woman and refused to wed Loren’s mother or provide her with support. Loren was raised by her mother and grand-mother in Pozzuoli, near Naples, along with her younger sister Maria.

Loren’s family then moved to Naples after Loren sustained shrapnel wounds on her chin during World War II raids but moved back to Puzzoli afer the war ended. In order to survive, Loren’s grandmother opened a pub, where she sold cherry liquor selling, while her mother played the piano, her sister dang and Loren herself, waited tables and washed the dishes. Loren entered the Miss Italia Beauty Pageant in 1950, at the age of 14 where she finished as a finalist and later moved to Rome to enrol into acting classes.

Career Rise

Loren made her acting debut in the 1951 film ‘Quo Vadis’ as an extra and soon became a famous Italian model. She received critical acclaim for her work in the 1953 film ‘Aida’, which became her first starring role but got her breakthrough in the 1954 film ‘The Gold in Naples’. Loren starred in films like ‘Too Bad She’s Bad’, ‘Scandal in Sorrento’, ‘Lucky to Be a Woman’, ‘Boy on a Dolphin’, ‘Legend of the Lost’ and ‘The Pride and the Passion’ between 1954-1957 and rose to international prominence in 1958 when she was signed by Paramount Pictures. Under the banner, Loren appeared in films like ”Desire Under the Elms’, ‘Houseboat’ and ‘Heller in Pink Tights’. Loren who was originally cast as the daughter in the 1961 film ‘Two Women’, chose to play the mother protecting her daughter in war-ravaged Italy and won several awards for her work.

Loren dominated the film scene in the 1960’s appearing with prominent actors and became one of the most highly paid actresses of her time. Loren earned $1 Million for her work in the 1964 film ‘The Fall of the Roman Empire’. Other successful films include ‘Lady L’, ‘Arabesque’, ‘A Countess from Hong Kong’, ‘The Voyage’, ‘Brief Encounter’, and the international hit films ‘The Cassandra Crossing’ and ‘A Special Day’. Loren became the first celebrity to launch her own fragrance ‘Sophia’ in 1981 and followed it with an eye-wear brand. Her most recent appearances were in the box-office hit films ‘Grumpier Old men’ in 1995 and ‘Nine’ in 2009.

Sophia Loren – Young Pictures

Personal Life

Loren was involved in a romantic relationship with the much married British-American actor Cary Grant who began an affair with her in 1957 on the sets of ‘The Pride and the Passion’. Grant chose to star with Loren in the 1958 film ‘Houseboat’, written by his then wife Betsy Drake, but Grant chose to replace Drake with Loren which caused fiction in his marriage. Loren and Grant’s affair ended on a bitter note when she chose to marry Carlo Ponti.

With Actor Cary Grant

Loren married Italian film producer Carlo Ponti, Sr, 21 years older to her in September 1957. However, the couple had to annul their marriage to escape charges of bigamy since Ponti was still married officially to Giuliana, his first wife. Ponti and Guiliana divorced in 1965 and Loren married Ponti again in April 1966. The couple moved to and became French citizens to that end and became parents to two sons, Carlo Ponti, Jr and Edoardo Ponti.