Loren, Sophia (sōfē`ə lôrĕn`), 1934–, Italian film actress, b. as Sophia Scicoloni. She grew up in the slums of Naples. With the help of Italian producer Carlo Ponti (later her husband) she gained international fame as a beautiful and accomplished film actress in both tragic dramas and boisterous comedies. She won the first Academy Award for a foreign-language performance for her role in Two Women (1961), and she received a special Academy Award in 1991 for her body of work. Her movies include The Gold of Naples (1954), The Pride and the Passion (1957), Houseboat (1958), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Marriage Italian Style (1964), and A Special Day (1977). In the autobiographical television movie Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980), she played herself and her mother.

Loren, Sophia

orig. Sofia Villani Scicolone

Sophia Loren in Boccaccio '70 (1962).

(credit: Brown Brothers)

(born Sept. 20, 1934, Rome, Italy) Italian film actress. After a poverty-stricken childhood in war-torn Naples, she became a model and movie extra in Rome. Coached by the producer Carlo Ponti (later her husband), she acted in Italian movies from 1950, including The Gold of Naples (1954). Her later films, in which she became noted for her statuesque beauty and earthy femininity, include The Black Orchid (1959), El Cid (1961), Two Women (1961, Academy Award), Boccaccio '70 (1962), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1964), Marriage Italian Style (1964), and A Special Day (1977).