Sophia Loren

Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone Dame Grand Cross OMRI (born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren , is an Italian actress. During the 1950s she starred in films as a sexually emancipated personae and was one of the best known sex symbols. She was named by the American Film Institute as the 21st greatest female star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

She is currently the only living actress and highest-ranked living person mentioned on the list. She is also now one of the last surviving major 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 the Passion, Houseboat, and It Started in Naples.

Loren’s performance as Cesira in the movie Two Women (1961) directed by Vittorio De Sica earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor or actress to win an Oscar for a foreign-language performance. She holds 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), 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.