Sophia Loren, the epitome of glamour and beauty in Hollywood, had humble beginnings marked by poverty and criticism of her looks. Her mother, born Sofia Villani Scicolone in Rome in 1934, was a piano teacher and actress whose beauty once won her recognition in a Greta Garbo impersonation contest.
However, family restrictions prevented her from pursuing a career in Hollywood. Instead, she accompanied her daughter Sophia on her path to fame.
Sofia grew up without the support of her father, who did not interfere in the family’s life. Poverty was Sophia’s constant companion, and during the Second World War she lacked even the most basic necessities.
Her early life was characterised by adversity. She suffered from ticks and lice and was bullied at school because of her short stature. Although she was a finalist in the 1950 Miss Italy competition and attended the National Film School in Italy, her appearance was criticised. She was advised to change her nose and lose weight.
She had her breakthrough in film at the age of 19, when she played an Ethiopian slave girl in the play Aida to critical acclaim. Four years later, she starred alongside Carrie Grant and Frank Sinatra in Pride and Passion.
For her role in Two Women, she received the Oscar for Best Actress in 1960, making her the first actress to win this award for a foreign-language film.
Sophia Loren received numerous other awards, including Golden Globes, a Grammy Award, an Honorary Oscar and the Cecil B. DeMille Golden Globe Lifetime Achievement Award.
Even at the age of 88, Sophia Loren remains an icon of the entertainment industry. In 2020, she returned to the big screen and played the lead role in the film “The Life Before Her”, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. In the film, she played Madame Rosa, a Holocaust survivor and former sex worker.
Epitome of glamour and beauty: How Sophia Loren became a screen goddess?
