Sophia Loren was an Italian actress who became a major sex symbol in the 1960s. She grew up poor in Naples and had her breakthrough role in 1951. She won an Academy Award in 1961 and went on to star in many successful films often alongside Marcello Mastroianni. She was known for her beauty and sex appeal but also gained respect for her dramatic roles later in her career. She had two sons and remained active in film into her 70s.

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4. Mini Biography She is the illegitimate child of RomildaVillani and RiccardoScicolone. Sophia grew up in the slums of Pozzuoli, just outside Naples. After insignificant parts in Luci del varietà(1950) and Quo Vadis (1951), she met movie-director Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she later married. Perhaps he was the father figure she never experienced as a child. In 1961, she received an Academy Award for La ciociara (1960) ("Two Women").

6. This beautiful lady became one of the major sex symbol of the sixties, competing with Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda. She was a very close friend of Cary Grant.

8. She gained wider respect with her later movies like The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Unagiornata particolare (1977) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994). A lot of her movies were produced by her husband. In many of her movies, she played together with Marcello Mastroianni.

10. Trivia As a child, she also had the nickname, "Toothpick". Mother of Carlo Ponti Jr. and Edoardo Ponti She may have been the voluptuous sex goddess as an adult, but until the age of 14, she was a skinny child and considered an ugly duckling, nicknamed 'The Stick'. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world (1991).

12. She had her marriage annulled to save Carlo Ponti from bigamy charges in Italy. She served 18 days in prison in Italy in 1982 for tax evasion. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#25) (1995). She didn't get along with Marlon Brando during the shooting of A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), especially after the day they were doing a love scene and he commented, "Did you know you have hairs up your nostrils?".

14. Had two miscarriages prior to her first-born son Carlo Ponti Jr. Because of these complications, she had to have complete bed rest throughout her first and second successful pregnancies. She performed two duets with Peter Sellers which were major hits in the UK pop chart. 'Goodness Gracious Me' was released in 1960 and reached four and 'Bangers and Mash' made it to the top 20 in 1961. Carlo Ponti obtained a Mexican divorce from his first wife and married Sophia by proxy, while she was in Hollywood, filming Houseboat (1958) - and dating co-star Cary Grant .

16. While filming Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Sophia was required to walk in a trench in order to give audiences the impression that her diminutive co-star, Alan Ladd, was taller than she. Her sister Anna Maria Mussolini (born Anna Maria Scicolone) was married to dictator Benito Mussolini's son, Romano Mussolini. Suffered from stage fright and, therefore, never appeared in a theatrical production.

18. Her mother won an all-Italy Greta Garbo lookalike contest run by MGM in 1932; but, being only 17 years old, her mother wouldn't allow her to pursue her Hollywood dream. Soon after, she became pregnant with Sofia. Her adopted surname is a slight variation of "Toren" after the Swedish actress Märta Torén. Her mother named her after her paternal grandmother, so when Sofia's father abandoned her, her maternal grandmother began calling her 'Lella'.

20. At times, male actors have been hesitant to appear with her, due to the fact that she stands nearly 5' 9" and wears towering heels and tall hair that can make her look over 6 feet tall. Portrays herself and her mother in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) (TV)

22. Her "Best Actress" Academy Award was the first Oscar ever given for a performance in a "foreign-language" film. Received an honorary citizenship in her hometown of Pozzuoli, Italy, on June 22, 2005 (she gave up her Italian citizenship and became a French citizen years ago because of legal and tax problems she and her husband incurred in Italy).

24. Appeared in the 2007 edition of the famous Pirelli Calendar at the age of 72, making her the oldest model in its history. Owns an apartment in the Trump World Tower in New York. Mentioned in Bob Dylan's song "I Shall Be Free". Hating beauty salons, she does her hair and nails herself. Being one of the contestants at the 1950 Miss Italia competition, she earned the 2nd place and was awarded "Miss Eleganza".

26. The Best Actress Oscar she won for La ciociara (1960) (Two Women) was stolen by thieves from her Italian villa. AMPAS later replaced it for a small fee.

28. She is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Marion Cotillard, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro. Sister of Maria Scicolone. Godmother of Drew Barrymore. Was amongst those considered for the role of Lara Antipova in Doctor Zhivago (1965), but the part ultimately went to Julie Christie.

30. She and Marcello Mastroianni made 13 movies together: La bella mugnaia (1955), Fatto di sangue fra due uomini per causa di una vedova - si sospettano moventi politici (1978), La fortuna di essere donna (1956), Una giornata particolare (1977), I girasoli (1970), Ieri, oggi, domani (1963),Matrimonio all'italiana (1964), La moglie del prete (1971), Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), La pupa del gangster(1975), Questi fantasmi (1968) and Tempi nostri (1954).

32. Won a Grammy award in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for her work in "Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Beintus" along with former US President Bill Clinton and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. Was named #21 Actress, The American Film Institutes 50 Greatest Screen Legends Often called the "Italian Marilyn Monroe".

34. Actress Sophia Loren, 75, poses with son Carlo Ponti, Jr., 38, his wife Andrea Meszaros, and grandson Vittorio, 4 months, as well as son Edoardo Ponti, 34, his wife, actress Sasha Alexander, 34, and granddaughter Lucia, 15 months.

36. Personal Quotes Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got.

38. Mistakes are a part of the dues one pays for a full life.

40. A mother has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

41. Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent.

43. Cooking is an act of love, a gift, a way of sharing with others the little secrets -- "piccolisegreti" -- that are simmering on the burners.

45. Many people think they want things, but they don't really have the strength, the discipline. They are weak. I believe that you get what you want if you want it badly enough

47. [on Tyrone Power] Tyrone Power was my ideal man.

49. [on adultery] It's a game I never play.

51. [explaining why she stopped doing nude scenes] When Sophia Loren is naked, that is a lot of nakedness.

53. A woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.

55. The two big advantages I had at birth were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty.

57. [on Cary Grant] I learned many things working with Cary Grant. He has such tremendous concentration. Many actors do not have the courage to stand still. Cary Grant knows how to concentrate, how to look directly at you, but always with great relaxation.

59. [on Marcello Mastroianni] Marcello is a man who thinks like a man, talks like a man -- is a man! He has so much magnetism, he brings out the very soul in a woman.

61. [on Gina Lollobrigida] Gina's personality is limited. She is good playing a peasant but is incapable of playing a lady. That said, I don't think she's positively mad about me. Because I'm bigger than she? It's possible. Who knows?

63. [on Gregory Peck] One of the most charming men I've ever met

74. Trinity November 2009