About this artist
Sofia Villani Scicolone Dame Grand Cross OMRI, known professionally as Sophia Loren, is an Italian actress.
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. Notable 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 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 six David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress: Two Women; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian Style; Sunflower; The Voyage; and A Special Day. After starting a family in the early 1970s, Loren chose to make rarer film appearances. Most recently, she has appeared in American films such as Grumpier Old Men and Nine. For Nine she received the Satellite Award for Best Cast together with the ensemble cast.