Sophia Loren Wie herrlich eine Frau zu sein (Hardcover Book)

Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren, born Sofia Villani Scicolone in Rome on 20 September 1934, is one of the great screen legends of the twentieth century. Raised in poverty in Pozzuoli near Naples, she had to hide from the bombing raids of the Second World War in railway tunnels; neighbourhood children mocked the skinny girl with nicknames such as 'Stecchetto' ('little stick').

It was her ambitious mother, Romilda Villani, who opened the way to the cinema, taking her to beauty contests and finding her work in the 'fumetti', the popular photo-romances of the day. At one contest the producer Carlo Ponti sat on the jury - Sofia came only second for 'Miss Latium', but she won Ponti's interest and later his love.

Twenty-one years her senior, Ponti transformed the extra of countless epics into the actress Sophia Loren. Her breakthrough came when Vittorio de Sica cast her in "The Gold of Naples" (1954), the start of a long and fruitful collaboration. She soon rose to become Italy's most beloved screen idol, challenging the celebrated Gina Lollobrigida.

In Hollywood Loren appeared alongside Cary Grant ("Houseboat", 1958), William Holden ("The Key", 1958) and Anthony Quinn ("The Black Orchid", 1959). Yet full recognition as a serious actress came only with de Sica's war drama "Two Women" (1960), for which in 1961 she became the first performer in a foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Carlo Ponti, to whom she remained attached throughout her life, became her husband. Well into old age Sophia Loren seemed to resist the passage of time effortlessly, remaining for many the very embodiment of Italian beauty and vitality - a fighter who rose from the humblest beginnings to worldwide stardom.

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