Sophia Loren Net Worth and Salary: Sophia Loren is a legendary Italian actress and model who has a net worth of $150 million. She began acting in films as a teenager before signing a five-film deal with Paramount, which launched her to global stardom. Her films include “Marriage Italian Style,” “Sunflower,” and “Two Women,” the latter of which earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.
Early life and career start:Sophia Loren was born Sofia Villani Scicolone in 1934 in Rome, Italy. Her parents were Romilda Villani, a piano teacher, and Riccardo Scicolone, who was a civil engineer of noble descent. Loren’s parents never married, and her father eventually left the family without financial support. When she was 15, Loren entered the 1950 Miss Italy beauty pageant under the name Sofia Lazzaro; selected as one of the three finalists, she was awarded the title of “Miss Elegance”. Still using the name Lazzaro, she enrolled at Italy’s national film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. She later appeared in an uncredited role in the 1951 historical epic Quo Vadis. During this period, Loren had small roles in Italian films such as ‘Brief Rapture’, ‘It was his… and! Yes!”, “
In 1953, after adopting her current name, Loren had her first leading role in “Aida”, an adaptation of Verdi’s opera. She landed another leading role that same year in Two Nights with Cleopatra. However, her big break came with the 1954 Vittorio De Sica anthology film The Gold of Naples. Loren went on to have a prolific screen career over the next two years, starring in films such as Pilgrim of Love, Too Bad She’s Bad, The Sign of Venus, and The Miller’s Beautiful Wife. the first of many films with Marcello Mastroanni.
Ascent to Global Stardom: After a string of successful films that included “Lucky to Be a Woman,” 20th Century Fox’s “Boy on a Dolphin” and United Artists’ “The Pride and the Passion,” Loren signed a five-picture deal . with Paramount Pictures in 1958. She later rose to international fame in such films as “Desire Under the Elms,” with Anthony Perkins; “The Black Orchid,” with Anthony Quinn; romantic comedy “Houseboat” with Cary Grant; and “That Kind of Woman” by Sidney Lumet.
1960 was a big year for Loren; starred in five films, including the George Cukor western “Heller in Pink Tights,” the romantic comedies “It Started in Naples” and “The Millionairess,” and “A Breath of Scandal” with Maurice Chevalier. Loren’s biggest success that year, however, came with Vittorio De Sica’s Italian drama Two Women, in which she played a mother who goes to great lengths to protect her young daughter during the war. The performance earned Loren a slew of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor to win an Oscar for a role other than the English language.
Success still on the screen: Throughout the 1960s, Loren was among the most popular actresses in the world. She continued to make films both in Hollywood and abroad and often starred alongside big male stars of the screen. Her credits in this activity include the historical epic “El Cid” with Charlton Heston; the Italian anthology film “Boccaccio ’70”; “Five Miles to Midnight,” reuniting with former co-star Anthony Perkins; and Vittorio De Sica’s comedy anthology Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1964. That year, Loren’s career reached a new peak when he was given $1 million . to be in Anthony Mann’s epic The Fall. of the Roman Empire”. Next year,
Loren’s other notable films of the 1960s included “Lady L,” starring Paul Newman; the 1966 comedy thriller “Arabesque,” starring Gregory Peck; and “A Countess from Hong Kong,” the final film directed by Charlie Chaplin. During this time, Loren won several Golden Globe Awards as “World’s Favorite – Female”.
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1970s and 80s: After becoming a mother, Loren starred in several Italian films throughout the 1970s. Her credits included ‘Sunflower’, ‘The Priest’s Wife’, ‘Lady Liberty’, ‘The Sin’ and ‘The Voyage’ with Richard Burton, the last film directed by Vittorio De Sica. Loren also co-starred with Burton in the 1974 television film Brief Encounter, a remake of the 1945 film of the same name. In 1976, she starred in The Cassandra Crossing alongside Ava Gardner, Richard Harris and Burt Lancaster. The following year, she appeared again with Marcello Mastroianni in A Special Day, which earned her her seventh David di Donatello Award. Loren ended the decade with roles in thrillers such as “Blood Feud,”
Loren acted in fewer films in the 80s, she had a few credits in made-for-television movies. One of these, “Sophia Loren: Her Own Story,” was adapted from the actress’ autobiography; in it, she played both herself and her mother. He later appeared in the television films Aurora and Courage and the miniseries The Fortunate Pilgrim and Running Away.
Later career: Loren’s acting career continued to decline in the 90s. In 1991, she received an honorary Oscar for her contributions to world cinema and received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes in 1995. During this time, Loren appeared in films such as “Pret-a-Porter” and comedies. sequel to “Grumpier Old Men,” starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. She also became active in other business areas, selling perfumes, jewelry and cookbooks.
In the early 2000s, Loren appeared in the Canadian independent film Between Strangers. In 2009, she had one of her most prominent roles in recent years in the film adaptation of the musical Nine. She landed an even bigger role in 2020 when she was cast as the lead actress of the Italian drama ‘The Life Ahead’.
Personal life: In 1957, Loren married Italian film producer Carlo Ponti, whom she had known since the age of 16. As Ponti was still married at the time, the couple annulled their marriage in 1962 to avoid accusations of bigamy; however, they continued to live together. When Ponti was finally divorced, he married Loren in 1966. They later had two children, Carlo Ponti Jr. and Edoardo Ponti, and remained married until Ponti’s death in 2007.
Loren lives primarily in Geneva, Switzerland since 2006; she also owns residences in Rome and Naples. The actress has four grandchildren.
Art collection : Sophia and Carlo amassed an incredible art collection during their time together. Their collection includes pieces by Picasso, Renoir, Francis Bacon, Salvado Dali and others.
