Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren Facts
| Sign | Virgo |
| Born |
Sep 20, 1934 Rome, Italy |
| Age | 91 |
| Total Facts | 51 |
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 (17 September 1957).
Appeared in the 2007 edition of the famous Pirelli Calendar at the age of 72, making her the oldest model in its history.
As a child, she also had the nickname, "Toothpick".
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.
Attended the funeral of her friend and two-time costar Anthony Perkins in September 1992.
Being a fan of soccer club S.S.C. Napoli, she told the daily "Gazzetta dello Sport", when the team was just third in Serie B, that she would do a striptease if they achieved promotion to Serie A for the next season. When they managed to achieve promotion, she explained that she had made just a joke (June 2007).
Being one of the contestants at the 1950 Miss Italia competition, she earned the 2nd place and was awarded "Miss Eleganza".
Born at 2:10pm-CET
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#25) (1995).
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world (1991).
Cited as one of Drew Barrymore's early role models. Loren was a close friend of Drew's godmother, Anna Strasberg (wife of famed acting coach Lee Strasberg.) Anna would bring young Drew - from age 8 until she was 12-to Sophia's ranch outside Los Angeles where Drew would spend summers with Loren's two sons. (Jane magazine interview March 2007).
Derives great pleasure from rolling her bare feet over a wooden rolling pin while watching TV.
Despite their strained relationship, she was present at her father Riccardo's bedside when he died of cancer in 1976, aged 69.
Filed a lawsuit against 76 websites for using "fraudulent photographs" of her on adult sites (17 September 1999).
Godmother of Drew Barrymore.
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.
Has a sister, Maria Scicolone (born 1938); and two half-brothers, Giuliano (born 1943) and Giuseppe (born 1946).
Has often played the love interest of a significantly older man, such as in The Pride and the Passion (1957) when she was 22 and Cary Grant was 53; and in It Started in Naples (1960) when she was 25 and Clark Gable was 59.
Has three grandchildren: Lucia (b. May 12, 2006) and Leonardo (b. December 20, 2010) by her son Edoardo Ponti and his wife Sasha Alexander; and Vittorio (b. April 3, 2007) by her son Carlo Ponti Jr. and his wife Andrea.
Hating beauty salons, she does her hair and nails herself.
Her "Best Actress" Academy Award was the first Oscar ever given for a performance in a "foreign-language" film.
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'.
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 sister Maria Scicolone was once married to dictator Benito Mussolini's son, Romano Mussolini.
Husband Carlo Ponti was two years older than Sophia's mother Romilda.
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.
Is portrayed by Sonia Aquino in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
Measurements: 38C-24-38 (self-described - 1955, and from Edith Head- 1957), 36D-24-37 3/4 (at age 50 - 1985) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Mentioned in Bob Dylan's song "I Shall Be Free".
Mother of Carlo Ponti Jr. (b. 1969) and Edoardo Ponti (b. 1973). Father is Carlo Ponti.
Mother-in-law of Sasha Alexander and Andrea Mezaros.
Often called the "Italian Marilyn Monroe".
One of eight women, also among them Susan Sarandon and author Isabel Allende, carrying the Olympic flag at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games' opening ceremony in Turin (10 February 2006).
Owns an apartment in the Trump World Tower in New York.
Portrays herself and her mother in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) (TV)
President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966.
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).
She and Marcello Mastroianni appeared in 11 movies together: The Miller's Beautiful Wife (1955), Blood Feud (1978), Lucky to Be a Woman (1955), A Special Day (1977), Sunflower (1970), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Marriage Italian Style (1964), The Priest's Wife (1971), Too Bad She's Bad (1954), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), and La pupa del gangster (1975). They were also friends in real life. In the early '90s, her teenage son Edoardo Ponti dated Marcello's daughter Chiara Mastroianni.
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?".
She had her marriage annulled to save Carlo Ponti from bigamy charges in Italy.
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'.
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.
She served 18 days in prison in Italy in 1982 for tax evasion.
Suffered from stage fright and, therefore, never appeared in a theatrical production.
The Best Actress Oscar she won for Two Women (1960) (Two Women) was stolen by thieves from her Italian villa. AMPAS later replaced it for a small fee.
Turned down starring roles on the TV series "Dynasty" (1981) and "Falcon Crest" (1981) to devote more time to raising her sons.
Was amongst those considered for the role of Lara Antipova in Doctor Zhivago (1965), but the part ultimately went to Julie Christie.
Was named #21 Actress, The American Film Institutes 50 Greatest Screen Legends
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.