Sophia Loren was honored Wednesday 4th in Beverly Hills at an event hosted by Billy Crystal and attended by John Travolta, Eva Mendes, Loren's "Nine" director, Rob Marshall, and her sons Carlo and Edoardo Ponti.
The tribute took her by surprise. "I didn't expect it, really," says Loren. "It's wonderful, because I belong to Italian movies and, generally, we Italians, don't get these wonderful honors, even though we deserve it sometimes!'"
Loren, now 76, is regarded as the most famous living Italian actress with more than 80 movies in her career. The actress told the audience that she never dreamed an Italian in an Italian-language film would earn the movie industry's highest honor, which would explain why she didn't even attend the 1961 Academy Awards at which she won Best Actress for her role in "Two Women."
She also received a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1991 and was declared "one of the world cinema's greatest treasures."
"The Academy Award changed my life completely," she said at the tribute. "It helped me to believe in myself and encouraged me to push my own artistic boundaries." "There are no words to describe my emotions right now. It is hard to imagine that 50 years have passed since I took my Oscar to my home," she added.
Born Sofia Scicolone in a charity ward in a Rome hospital, Loren grew up dirt-poor in Pozzuoli, a small town outside Naples. Her parents were never married and her father left Loren's mother on her own to raise the children. By 14, Loren had developed into a beauty. She entered a beauty contest, placed second and headed off to Rome.
It was at the Miss Rome Beauty contest that teenage Loren met producer Carlo Ponti, her future husband. He was a judge at the event; Loren caught his eye. Coming in second, she says, "gave me a chance to meet him. He said, 'Why don't you come to my office in two or three days and talk a little bit.' Little by little, [our romance] started. I was 16 years old and he was married and had two children."
The tribute took her by surprise. "I didn't expect it, really," says Loren. "It's wonderful, because I belong to Italian movies and, generally, we Italians, don't get these wonderful honors, even though we deserve it sometimes!'"
 |
| Sophia in "Two Women" (1961) |
Loren, now 76, is regarded as the most famous living Italian actress with more than 80 movies in her career. The actress told the audience that she never dreamed an Italian in an Italian-language film would earn the movie industry's highest honor, which would explain why she didn't even attend the 1961 Academy Awards at which she won Best Actress for her role in "Two Women."
She also received a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1991 and was declared "one of the world cinema's greatest treasures."
"The Academy Award changed my life completely," she said at the tribute. "It helped me to believe in myself and encouraged me to push my own artistic boundaries." "There are no words to describe my emotions right now. It is hard to imagine that 50 years have passed since I took my Oscar to my home," she added.
Born Sofia Scicolone in a charity ward in a Rome hospital, Loren grew up dirt-poor in Pozzuoli, a small town outside Naples. Her parents were never married and her father left Loren's mother on her own to raise the children. By 14, Loren had developed into a beauty. She entered a beauty contest, placed second and headed off to Rome.
It was at the Miss Rome Beauty contest that teenage Loren met producer Carlo Ponti, her future husband. He was a judge at the event; Loren caught his eye. Coming in second, she says, "gave me a chance to meet him. He said, 'Why don't you come to my office in two or three days and talk a little bit.' Little by little, [our romance] started. I was 16 years old and he was married and had two children."
 |
| Sophia and Singer Morganne Picard |
