64-434: Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli OMRI KBE ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈfraŋko ddzeffiˈrɛlli] ; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of
128-481: A femme fatale opposite Walter Matthau , Jack Lemmon , and Ann-Margret . The film was a box-office success and became Loren's biggest US hit in years. At the 20th Moscow International Film Festival in 1997, she was awarded an Honorable Prize for contribution to cinema. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Loren among the greatest female stars of American film history . In 2001, Loren received
192-883: A BAFTA Award , a Laurel Award , a Grammy Award , the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival . In 1991, she received the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements. In 1999, the American Film Institute named her one of the greatest stars of American film history . At the start of the 1980s, Loren chose to make rarer film appearances. Since then, she has appeared in films such as Prêt-à-porter (1994), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Nine (2009), and The Life Ahead (2020). Loren
256-627: A Special Grand Prix of the Americas Award at the Montreal World Film Festival for her body of work. She filmed two projects in Canada during this time: the independent film Between Strangers (2002), directed by her son Edoardo and co-starring Mira Sorvino , and the television miniseries Lives of the Saints (2004). In 2009, after five years off the set and 14 years since she starred in
320-595: A Woman , Boy on a Dolphin , Legend of the Lost and The Pride and the Passion (1957), the latter film a Napoleonic era war-epic set in Spain starring Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra . Loren became an international film star following her five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures in 1958. Among her films at this time were Desire Under the Elms with Anthony Perkins , based upon
384-407: A brand of eyewear soon followed. Loren acted infrequently during the 1980s, preferring to devote more time to raising her sons. In 1981 she turned down the role of Alexis Carrington in the television series Dynasty . Although she was set to star in 13 episodes of CBS's Falcon Crest in 1984 as Angela Channing's half-sister Francesca Gioberti, negotiations fell through at the last moment and
448-488: A fashion designer, and Ottorino Corsi, a wool and silk dealer from Vinci . Since both were married, Alaide was unable to use her surname or Corsi's for her child. She came up with "Zeffiretti", which are the "little breezes" mentioned in Mozart's opera Idomeneo , of which she was quite fond. However, it was misspelt in the register and became Zeffirelli. When he was six years old, his mother died and he subsequently grew up under
512-513: A mistake on her tax return. The matter did not hamper her popularity or career. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Italy cleared her of the charges in a separate decades-long dispute over the tax she should have paid on her 1974 earnings. In September 1999, Loren filed a lawsuit against 79 adult websites for posting altered nude photos of her on the internet. In The Motion Picture Herald , both British and American exhibitors voted for Loren within
576-633: A mother in 1968. During the next decade, most of her roles were in Italian features. During the 1970s, she was paired with Richard Burton in the last De Sica-directed film, The Voyage (1974), and a remake of the film Brief Encounter (1974). The film had its premiere on US television on 12 November 1974 as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame series on NBC. In 1976, she starred in The Cassandra Crossing . It fared extremely well internationally, and
640-556: A part of the cast, she received her first nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award . In 2010, Loren played her own mother in a two-part Italian television miniseries about her early life, directed by Vittorio Sindoni with Margareth Madè as Loren, entitled La mia casa è piena di specchi ( My House Is Full of Mirrors [ it ] ), based on the memoir by her sister Maria. In July 2013 Loren made her film comeback in an Italian short-film adaptation of Jean Cocteau 's 1930 play The Human Voice ( La voce umana ), which charts
704-594: A product of "that Jewish cultural scum of Los Angeles which is always spoiling for a chance to attack the Christian world." Zeffirelli was a highly conservative Catholic, and served two terms in the Italian senate as a member of Silvio Berlusconi 's centre-right Forza Italia party. He was criticized by members of the gay community for upholding the Catholic Church 's position on homosexuality and by others for support of
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#1732852297509768-619: A prominent US theatrical film, Loren starred in Rob Marshall 's film version of Nine , based on the Broadway musical that tells the story of a director whose midlife crisis causes him to struggle to complete his latest film; he is forced to balance the influences of numerous formative women in his life, including his deceased mother. Loren was Marshall's first and only choice for the role. The film also stars Daniel Day-Lewis , Penélope Cruz , Kate Hudson , Marion Cotillard , and Nicole Kidman . As
832-522: A rewritten script for which Drake asked not to receive credit. The affair ended in bitterness before The Pride and the Passion ' s filming ended, causing problems on the Houseboat set. Grant hoped to resume the relationship, but Loren decided to marry Carlo Ponti instead. In 1982, while in Italy, Loren made headlines after serving 17 days in prison on tax evasion charges. Loren said her accountant had made
896-548: A scene painter in Florence, he was introduced to Luchino Visconti , who hired him as an assistant director for the film La Terra trema , which was released in 1948. Visconti's methods had a deep impact on Zeffirelli's later work. He also worked with directors such as Vittorio De Sica and Roberto Rossellini . In the 1960s, he made his name designing and directing his own plays in London and New York City and soon transferred his ideas to
960-767: A star on 16 November 2017, at Almeria Walk of Fame in Spain for her work on White Sister . She received the Almería Tierra de Cine award. Loren is a Roman Catholic . Since 2006 her primary residence has been in Geneva , Switzerland. Her real estate portfolio has included a ranch in Hidden Valley , California, an apartment in the Hampshire House building in Manhattan, a condo on Williams Island in South Florida, and
1024-784: A villa in Rome. Loren is an ardent fan of the football club S.S.C. Napoli . In May 2007, when the team was third in Serie ;B , she (then aged 72) told the Gazzetta dello Sport that she would do a striptease if the team won. She had recently posed for the 2007 Pirelli Calendar . In February 2021, she was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and chose a pizza oven as her luxury item. Her musical choices included Cole Porter 's " I've Got You Under My Skin " as sung by Ella Fitzgerald , and Debussy 's " Clair de lune " as played by Tamás Vásáry . She revealed that fellow actor Richard Burton
1088-661: Is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Encouraged to enroll in acting lessons after entering a beauty pageant, Loren began her film career at age 16 in 1950. She appeared in several bit parts and minor roles in the early part of the decade, until her five-picture contract with Paramount in 1956 launched her international career. Her film appearances around this time include The Pride and
1152-605: Is still frequently shown at Christmas and Easter in many countries. A Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic since 1977, Zeffirelli also received an honorary British knighthood in 2004. He was awarded the Premio Colosseo in 2009 by the city of Rome. Zeffirelli was born Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli in the outskirts of Florence , Tuscany , Italy. He was born after an affair between Florentine Alaide Garosi,
1216-715: The Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze in 1941 and, following his father's advice, entered the University of Florence to study art and architecture. After World War II broke out, he fought as a partisan with the Italian Resistance , before he met up with British soldiers of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards and became their interpreter. After the war, he re-entered the University of Florence to continue his studies, but when he saw Laurence Olivier 's Henry V in 1945, he directed his attention toward theatre instead. While working for
1280-713: The Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . In November 2004, he was awarded an honorary knighthood by the United Kingdom. Zeffirelli received criticism from religious groups for what they call the blasphemous representation of biblical figures in his films. He also roused accusations of antisemitism for describing Martin Scorsese 's The Last Temptation of Christ as
1344-651: The Eugene O'Neill play; Houseboat , a romantic comedy co-starring Cary Grant ; and George Cukor 's Heller in Pink Tights , in which she appeared as a blonde for the first time. In 1960, Loren starred in Vittorio De Sica 's Two Women , a stark, gritty story of a mother who is trying to protect her 12-year-old daughter in war-torn Italy. The two end up gang-raped inside a church as they travel back to their home city following cessation of bombings there. Originally cast as
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#17328522975091408-584: The Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award , a similar honorary award, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. She presented Federico Fellini with his honorary Oscar in April 1993. In 2009, Loren stated on Larry King Live that Fellini had planned to direct her in a film shortly before his death in 1993. Throughout
1472-618: The Metropolitan Opera in New York, including La bohème , Tosca , Turandot and Don Giovanni . When the new Metropolitan Opera opened at Lincoln Center, he directed its first production, Samuel Barber 's Antony and Cleopatra , starring Leontyne Price. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary degree for services to the arts by the University of Kent at a graduation ceremony held in Canterbury Cathedral . In 1999, he received
1536-499: The Miss Italia 1950 beauty pageant and was assigned as Candidate No. 2, being one of the four contestants representing the Lazio region. She was selected as one of the last three finalists and won the title of Miss Elegance 1950, while Liliana Cardinale won the title of Miss Cinema and Anna Maria Bugliari won the grand title of Miss Italia. She returned in 2001 as president of the jury for
1600-562: The 1990s and 2000s, Loren was selective about choosing her films and ventured into various areas of business, including cookbooks, eyewear, jewelry, and perfume. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Robert Altman 's film Ready to Wear (1994), co-starring Julia Roberts . In 1994, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs , California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. In Grumpier Old Men (1995), Loren played
1664-543: The 61st edition of the pageant. In 2010, Loren crowned the 71st Miss Italia pageant winner. Sofia Lazzaro enrolled in the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia , the national film school of Italy and appeared as an uncredited extra in Mervyn LeRoy 's 1951 film Quo Vadis , when she was 16 years old. That same year, Loren appeared in the Italian film Era lui... sì! sì! , in which she played an odalisque , and
1728-508: The Church's position on abortion , which extended to calling for capital punishment for women who had terminated a pregnancy. He roused controversy again when he told a newspaper in 2006 that he had not suffered any harm from sexual abuse by a priest as a child. In 1996, Zeffirelli came out as gay, but thereafter preferred to be discreet about his personal life. Zeffirelli said that he considered himself "homosexual" rather than gay, as he felt
1792-701: The Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( Italian : Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana ) is the most senior Italian order of merit . It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic , Luigi Einaudi . The highest-ranking honour of the Republic, it is awarded for "merit acquired by the nation" in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers. The post-nominal letters for
1856-681: The North American box office in 1969. It was re-released in 1973 and earned $ 1.7 million in rentals. Film critic Roger Ebert , for the Chicago Sun-Times , wrote: "I believe Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made". After two successful film adaptations of Shakespeare, Zeffirelli went on to religious themes, first with a film about the life of St. Francis of Assisi titled Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972), then his extended mini-series Jesus of Nazareth (1977) with an all-star cast. The latter
1920-539: The Passion , Houseboat , and It Started in Naples . During the 1950s, she starred in films as a sexually emancipated persona and was one of the best known sex symbols of the time. Loren's performance as Cesira in the film Two Women (1960), directed by Vittorio De Sica , won her the Academy Award for Best Actress , making her the first performer to ever win an Oscar for a non-English-language performance. She holds
1984-948: The Roman Empire . In 1965, she received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance in Marriage Italian-Style opposite Marcello Mastroianni. Among Loren's best-known films of this period are Samuel Bronston 's epic production of El Cid with Charlton Heston , The Millionairess (1960) with Peter Sellers , It Started in Naples (1960) with Clark Gable , Vittorio De Sica's triptych Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) with Marcello Mastroianni, Peter Ustinov 's Lady L (1965) with Paul Newman , Arabesque (1966) with Gregory Peck , and Charlie Chaplin 's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) with Marlon Brando . Loren received four Golden Globe Awards between 1964 and 1977 as "World Film Favorite – Female". Loren appeared in fewer movies after becoming
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2048-658: The Scicolone last name. Loren has two younger paternal half-brothers, Giuliano and Giuseppe. Romilda, Sofia, and Maria lived with Loren's grandmother in Pozzuoli , near Naples . During the Second World War , the harbour and munitions plant in Pozzuoli was a frequent bombing target of the Allies . During one raid, as Loren ran to the shelter, she was struck by shrapnel and wounded in
2112-538: The Shrew , Zeffirelli's native Florence was devastated by floods . A month later, he released a short documentary, entitled Florence: Days of Destruction , to raise funds for the disaster appeal. Zeffirelli's major breakthrough came the year after, when he presented two teenagers as Romeo and Juliet (1968). It made Zeffirelli a household name – no other subsequent work by him had the immediate impact of Romeo and Juliet . The film earned $ 14.5 million in domestic rentals at
2176-472: The United States. He began his career in the theatre as assistant to Luchino Visconti. Then he tried his hand at scenography. His first work as a director was buffo operas by Gioachino Rossini . He became a friend of Maria Callas and they worked together on a La traviata in Dallas , Texas, in 1958. Of particular note is his 1964 Royal Opera House production of Tosca with Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi . In
2240-449: The auspices of the English expatriate community and was particularly involved with the so-called Scorpioni , who inspired his semi- autobiographical film Tea with Mussolini (1999). Italian researchers found that Zeffirelli was one of a handful of living people traceably consanguineous with Leonardo da Vinci . He was a descendant of one of da Vinci's siblings. Zeffirelli graduated from
2304-528: The breakdown of a woman who is left by her lover – with her younger son, Edoardo Ponti , as director. Filming took under a month during July in various locations in Italy, including Rome and Naples. It was Loren's first theatrical film since Nine . She returned to feature-length film, as Holocaust survivor Madame Rosa, in Ponti's 2020 feature film The Life Ahead . In 2021 she received AARP Best Actress and AWFJ Grand Dame awards for her role. Loren received
2368-498: The chin. After that, the family moved to Naples, where they were taken in by distant relatives. After the war, Loren and her family returned to Pozzuoli. Loren's grandmother Luisa opened a pub in their living room, selling homemade cherry liquor. Romilda played the piano , Maria sang, and Loren waited on tables and washed dishes. The place was popular with the American GIs stationed nearby. At age 15, Loren as Sofia Lazzaro entered
2432-453: The cinema. Zeffirelli's first film as director was a version of The Taming of the Shrew (1967), originally intended for Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni but featured the Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in their stead. Taylor and Burton helped fund production and took a percentage of the profits rather than their normal salaries. While editing The Taming of
2496-433: The daughter, Loren fought against type and was eventually cast as the mother (actress Eleonora Brown would portray the daughter). Loren's performance earned her many awards, including the Cannes Film Festival 's best performance prize, and an Academy Award for Best Actress , the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance or to an Italian actress. She won 22 international awards for Two Women . The film
2560-478: The film Withnail and I on Zeffirelli. In 2018, the American actor Johnathon Schaech alleged that Zeffirelli sexually assaulted him during the filming of Sparrow ( Storia di una capinera , 1993). Zeffirelli's son Giuseppe "Pippo", adopted by the filmmaker as an adult, issued a statement at the time denying the allegation. Zeffirelli died at his home in Rome on 15 June 2019, aged 96. Order of Merit of
2624-448: The first time a rank higher than Knight. The minimum age requirement is normally 35. The Knight Grand Cross with Collar is awarded only to heads of state . Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone L.d'H. OMRI ( Italian: [soˈfiːa vilˈlaːni ʃʃikoˈloːne] ; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( / l ə ˈ r ɛ n / lə- REN , Italian: [ˈlɔːren] ),
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2688-406: The international success of the biography Sophia Loren: Living and Loving, Her Own Story by A. E. Hotchner , Loren portrayed herself and her mother in a made-for-television biopic adaptation of her autobiography , Sophia Loren: Her Own Story . Ritza Brown and Chiara Ferrari each portrayed the younger Loren. In 1981, she became the first female celebrity to launch her own perfume , 'Sophia', and
2752-563: The lead role in Two Nights with Cleopatra (1953), her breakthrough role was in The Gold of Naples (1954), directed by Vittorio De Sica . Too Bad She's Bad , also released in 1954, and La Bella Mugnaia (1955) became the first of many films in which Loren co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni . Over the next three years, she acted in many films, including Scandal in Sorrento , Lucky to Be
2816-757: The lead role. His adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel Jane Eyre (1996) was a critical success. Zeffirelli frequently cast unknown actors in major roles: Leonard Whiting (Romeo in Romeo and Juliet ), Graham Faulkner (St. Francis in Brother Sun, Sister Moon ) and Martin Hewitt (David Axelrod in Endless Love ). Zeffirelli was a major director of opera productions from the 1950s in Italy and elsewhere in Europe as well as
2880-525: The liberty of the citizens) encircling the head of Italia turrita on the reverse. The six degrees with corresponding ribbons are as follows (with numbers to 2 June 2020): The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic , as head of the orders of knighthood, on the recommendation of the President of the Council of Ministers . Except in exceptional circumstances, no one can be awarded for
2944-633: The order are OMRI . The order effectively replaced national orders such as the Civil Order of Savoy (1831), the Order of the Crown of Italy (1868), the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1572) and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (1362). Investiture takes place twice a year – on 2 June, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic , and on 27 December, the anniversary of
3008-428: The promulgation of the Italian Constitution . However, those awards on Presidential motu proprio , related to termination of service or granted to foreigners, may be made at any time. The badge, modified in 2001, bears the inscription Al Merito della Repubblica encircling the national coat of arms on the obverse and the Latin Patriæ Unitati (for the union of the country) and Civium Libertati (for
3072-402: The record for having earned seven David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress: Two Women ; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963); Marriage Italian Style (1964, for which she was nominated for a second Oscar); Sunflower (1970); The Voyage (1974); A Special Day (1977) and The Life Ahead (2020). She has won five special Golden Globes (including the Cecil B. DeMille Award ),
3136-598: The role went to Gina Lollobrigida instead. She played the title role in the 1984 TV movie Aurora , in which she acted alongside her 11-year-old real-life son Edoardo Ponti . Loren has recorded more than two dozen songs throughout her career, including a best-selling album of comedic songs with Peter Sellers ; reportedly, she had to fend off his romantic advances. Partly owing to Sellers's infatuation with Loren, he split with his first wife, Anne Howe. Loren has made it clear to numerous biographers that Sellers's affections were reciprocated only platonically . This collaboration
3200-431: The same year, he created Callas' last Norma at the Paris Opera. He also staged at the Vienna State Opera : Don Giovanni (1972), La Bohème (1963), and Carmen with Elena Obraztsova and Plácido Domingo in 1978. Zeffirelli also collaborated with Joan Sutherland , designing and directing her performances of Gaetano Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959. Over the years he created several productions for
3264-544: The same. A member of the Forza Italia party, he served as the Senator for Catania between 1994 and 2001. Films he directed included the Shakespearean adaptations The Taming of the Shrew (1967), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton ; Romeo and Juliet (1968), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director ; and Hamlet (1990), starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close . His Biblical television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) won both national and international acclaim and
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#17328522975093328-433: The seventh in her career. The movie was extremely well received by American reviewers. Following this success, Loren starred in an American thriller Brass Target . This movie received mixed reviews, although it was moderately successful in the United States and internationally. In 1978, she won her fourth Golden Globe for "world film favorite". Other movies of this decade were Academy Award nominee Sunflower (1970), which
3392-405: The term "gay" was less elegant. Zeffirelli adopted two adult sons, men with whom he had lived and who worked for him for years, managing his affairs. Director Bruce Robinson claimed to have been the target of unwanted amorous attention from Zeffirelli during the filming of Romeo and Juliet , in which Robinson played Benvolio . Robinson says that he based the lecherous character of Uncle Monty in
3456-457: The youngest son of Benito Mussolini , Romano , with whom she had two daughters, Alessandra , a former MP and MEP , and Elisabetta. Loren and Cary Grant co-starred in Houseboat (1958). Grant's wife Betsy Drake wrote the original script, and Grant originally intended that Drake would star with him. After he began an affair with Loren while filming The Pride and the Passion (1957), Grant arranged for Loren to take Drake's place with
3520-532: Was a critical success, and Arthur Hiller's Man of La Mancha (1972), which was a critical and commercial failure despite being nominated for several awards, including two Golden Globes. Peter O'Toole and James Coco were nominated for two NBR awards, in addition the NBR listed Man of La Mancha in its best ten pictures of 1972 list. Loren headlined the action thriller Firepower (1979) co-starring James Coburn and O. J. Simpson , whom she had previously worked with on The Cassandra Crossing . In 1980, after
3584-429: Was a major success in the ratings. He moved on to contemporary themes with a remake of the boxing picture The Champ (1979) and the critically panned Endless Love (1981). In the 1980s, he made a series of successful films adapting opera to the screen, with such stars as Plácido Domingo , Teresa Stratas , Juan Pons and Katia Ricciarelli . He returned to Shakespeare with Hamlet (1990), casting Mel Gibson in
3648-893: Was a piano teacher and aspiring actress, her father a failed engineer who worked temporarily for the national railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane . Loren claimed in her autobiography that he was of noble descent, by virtue of which she is entitled to call herself "Viscountess of Pozzuoli, Lady of Caserta, a title given by the House of Hohenstaufen , Marchioness of Licata Scicolone Murillo". Loren's father refused to marry her mother, leaving her without financial support. Loren met her father three times, at age five, age seventeen and in 1976 at his deathbed, stating that she forgave him but had never forgotten his abandonment of her mother. Loren's parents had another child together, her sister Maria , in 1938. Scicolone did not want to formally recognise Maria as his daughter. When Loren became successful, she paid her father in order to have her sister Maria take
3712-408: Was a respectable box office success in the US market. She co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni again in Ettore Scola 's A Special Day (1977). This movie was nominated for 11 international awards such as two Oscars (best actor in leading role, best foreign picture). It won a Golden Globe Award and a César Award for best foreign movie. Loren's performance was awarded with a David di Donatello Award,
3776-401: Was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour in France in July 1991, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (OMRI) in June 1996. Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone was born on September 20, 1934, in the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome , Kingdom of Italy , the daughter of Romilda Villani (1910–1991) and Riccardo Scicolone Murillo (1907–1976). Her mother
3840-526: Was approved by then French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou . Ponti then obtained a divorce from Giuliana in France, allowing him to marry Loren on 9 April 1966. The marriage lasted until Ponti's death on 10 January 2007 from pulmonary complications, aged 94. The couple had two sons, Carlo Ponti Jr. , born on 29 December 1968, and Edoardo Ponti , born on 6 January 1973. Loren's daughters-in-law are Sasha Alexander and Andrea Meszaros. Loren has four grandchildren. In 1962, Loren's sister Maria married
3904-452: Was covered in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers where actress Sonia Aquino portrayed Loren. The song " Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? " by Peter Sarstedt was said to have been inspired by Loren. In 1991, Loren received an Academy Honorary Award , which described her as "One of the genuine treasures of world cinema who, in a career rich with memorable performances, has added permanent luster to our art form." In 1995, she received
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#17328522975093968-465: Was credited as Sofia Lazzaro . In the early part of the decade, she played bit parts and had minor roles in several films, including La Favorita (1952) . Carlo Ponti changed her name and public image to appeal to a wider audience as Sophia Loren , being a twist on the name of the Swedish actress Märta Torén and suggested by Goffredo Lombardo . Her first starring role was in Aida (1953), for which she received critical acclaim. After playing
4032-583: Was extremely well received by critics and a huge commercial success. Though proud of this accomplishment, Loren did not show up to this award, citing fear of fainting at the award ceremony. Nevertheless, Cary Grant telephoned her in Rome the next day to inform her of the Oscar award . During the 1960s, Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world, and continued to make films in the United States and Europe, starring with prominent leading men. In 1961 and 1964, her career reached its pinnacle when she received $ 1 million to appear in El Cid and The Fall of
4096-637: Was furious with her for cheating at Scrabble . On 24 September 2023, Loren received emergency surgery following fractures to her hip and femur sustained from a fall at her home in Switzerland. Loren first met Carlo Ponti in 1950, when she was 15 and he was 37. Though Ponti had been long separated from his first wife, Giuliana, he was not legally divorced when Loren married him by proxy (two male lawyers stood in for them) in Mexico on 17 September 1957. The couple had their marriage annulled in 1962 to escape bigamy charges, but continued to live together. In 1965, they became French citizens after their application
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