Italian Actress and model Sophia Loren is regarded as a legend in the field and is worth $150 million, according to celebritynetworth. When she was a youngster, she began acting.
Later, she secured a five-picture deal with Paramount, which launched her to international renown.
She achieved the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles in “Two Ladies,” “Marriage Italian Style,” and “Sunflower,” among other well-known films.
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Career
At 15, Loren entered the 1950 Miss Italia beauty contest as Sofia Lazzaro. After placing in the top three, she was named “Miss Elegance.”
Afterward, still going as Lazzaro, she enrolled in the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy’s national film school.
She made a brief, uncredited appearance in the historical drama “Quo Vadis” in 1951, as well as numerous cameos in Italian movies like “Brief Rapture,” “Era lui… s! s!”, “I Dream of Zorro,” and “La Favorita.”
In 1953, Loren was cast in her first significant part in the Verdi opera adaptation “Aida.” She also had a major part in “Two Nights with Cleopatra” that same year.
Her big break, meanwhile, came in 1954 with “The Gold of Naples,” a Vittorio De Sica anthology movie.
With roles in films like “Pilgrim of Love,” “Too Bad She’s Bad,” “The Sign of Venus,” and “The Miller’s Lovely Wife,” alongside Marcello Mastroianni, Loren proceeded to have a successful career in film during the following several years.
Ascent To Global Stardom
After a succession of hit films like “Blessed to Exist a Woman,” “Boy on a Dolphin,” and “The Pride and the Passion” from United Artists, Loren signed a five-picture deal with Paramount Pictures in 1958, which helped launch her to celebrity all over the world.
She then went on to star in several well-known movies, including Sidney Lumet’s “That Sort of Woman,” “The Black Orchid,” with Anthony Quinn, the romantic comedy “Houseboat,” and “Desire Beneath the Elms” with Anthony Perkins.
With five films, including the George Cukor western “Heller in Pink Tights” and the romantic comedies “It Began in Naples” and “The Millionairess,” Loren had a very notable year in 1960.
She also co-starred with Maurice Chevalier in “A Breath of Scandal.” However, Loren’s performance in Vittorio De Sica’s Italian drama “Two Women,” in which she played a mother who took tremendous measures to protect her little daughter during the war, was her most noteworthy accomplishment that year.
She received multiple honors for the performance, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, marking her the first actor to do so for a character that wasn’t in the English language.
Continued Success On Screen
Throughout the 1960s, Loren enjoyed enormous popularity as an actress, domestically and internationally, and frequently starred with well-known male actors.
She appeared in some movies during this time, such as Vittorio De Sica’s “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” which won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, “Boccaccio ’70,” “Five Miles to Midnight,” and the historical epic “El Cid” starring Charlton Heston.
When Loren received a $1 million paycheck to play the lead role in Anthony Mann’s epic “The Fall of the Roman Empire” that year, her career reached new heights.
The following year, she was nominated for another Academy Award for her performance in Vittorio De Sica’s “Marriage Italian Style.” Afterward, she won several Golden Globes, including the “World Film Favorite – Female” honor.
Later Career
In the 1990s, Loren’s career slowed down. She won a 1991 Honorary Oscar for her services to international cinema and the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1995 Golden Globes.
She appeared in films like “Prêt-à-Porter” and the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau comedy sequel “Grumpier Old Guys.”
She also dabbled in other commercial endeavors, such as cookbooks, jewelry, and perfume distribution.
Loren appeared early in the new millennium in the independent Canadian film “Between Strangers.”
In 2009, when she starred in the movie version of the musical “Nine,” she played the most major role she has played in years.
In 2020, she was given her greatest part to date when she was chosen to play the lead role in the Italian drama “The Life Ahead.”
Art Collection
Sophia and Carlo amassed an impressive art collection throughout their relationship, including pieces by well-known painters, including Picasso, Renoir, Francis Bacon, Salvador Dali, and many more.
