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Sophia
Loren
Loren,
Sophia (1934- ), Italian film actress, who
progressed from being an international sex
symbol to Academy Award (Oscar) winner.
Born in Rome, Loren was a beauty
contestant when she was discovered at the
age of 15 by film producer Carlo Ponti,
who later became her husband. She became a
star by the age of 20, though her early
films were not notable. Her most
noteworthy Hollywood film was the Western
Heller in Pink Tights (1960).
Loren
returned to Italy, where she acted in La
Ciociara (1961; Two Women), a powerful
wartime tale directed by Vittorio De Sica,
for which she earned her first Academy
Award. De Sica also cast her in a series
of earthy Italian comedies opposite
Marcello Mastroianni, starting with Ieri,
Oggi, Domani (1963; Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow) and Matrimonio all'Italiana
(1964; Marriage Italian Style); the latter
brought her another Oscar nomination.
Loren has moved freely between European
and Hollywood projects. Her films include
L'Oro di Napoli (1954; Gold of Naples),
Houseboat (1958), The Black Orchid (1959),
El Cid (1961), A Countess from Hong Kong
(1967), and Una Giornata Particolare
(1977; A Special Day). Now acting only
occasionally, she played a small part in
the Robert Altman film
Prêt-à-Porter (1994), and
starred opposite Jack Lemmon and Walter
Matthau in Grumpier Old Men (1995). In
1996 she appeared in Roger Hanin's Soleil,
a comedy set in late 1930s France. Loren
received an honorary Academy Award in
1991, and in 1995 she was given the Golden
Globe Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime
Achievement Award.
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