Sophia Loren sopla 90 velas como monumento eterno del cine

Sophia Loren turns 90: The Italian film diva’s roles and international awards

POR LA EFE – LA ÚLTIMA GRAN DIVA DE LOS AÑOS DE ORO DEL CINE MUNDIA

Como una estrella que desafía al tiempo, la actriz Sophia Loren cumple mañana, viernes, 90 años coronada como la última gran diva de los Años de Oro del cine mundial y recordada por decenas de películas que la encumbraron como todo un icono italiano.

Las celebraciones por el cumpleaños llegarán al público de varios puntos del planeta, con exposiciones y otros eventos desde Nápoles a Nueva York o Los Ángeles, aunque ella lo celebrará con una fiesta privada en «su» Roma rodeada de su familia y amigos más queridos.

La ‘Señora’ cumple 90 años como un recuerdo vivo de los Años de Oro del cine, pero también como símbolo de elegancia y sentido del humor. «Yo pienso en todo menos en la muerte», respondía riendo en una reciente entrevista al diario ‘La Repubblica’.

Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone nació el 20 de septiembre de 1934 en una Roma que pronto cambiaría por la periferia napolitana debido a las estrecheces de la ausencia paterna.

Sin embargo la ciudad de la ‘Dolce Vita’ volvería a acogerla en su juventud, cuando regresó con su madre en busca de éxito en los concursos de belleza. El encuentro en uno de ellos con un poderoso productor, Carlo Ponti, 22 años mayor que ella y casado, cambiaría su vida para siempre.

Con él se casaría esquivando una acusación de bigamia y tendría sus dos hijos, Carlo y Edoardo. Pero también la ayudaría a entrar en el efervescente cine de la posguerra, bautizándola acertadamente con un ‘Sophia’ mucho más internacional.

La actriz enseguida saboreó el éxito con el cineasta de su vida, Vittorio De Sica, bailando aquel ‘Mambo italiano’ en ‘Pane, amore e…’ (1955), parte de una saga adorada previamente protagonizada por Gina Lollobrigida, con quien siempre fue comparada.

En esos años conoció en el set de ‘Peccato che sia una cannaglia’ (1954) a un actor a quien quedaría unida para siempre en el imaginario colectivo: Marcello Mastroianni.

Juntos rodarían obras inolvidables como el tríptico ‘Ieri, oggi, domani’ (1963); ‘Matrimonio all’italiana’ (1964), cinta con la que recibiría su segunda nominación al Óscar, o ‘Una giornata particolare’ (1977) un enternecedor drama de Ettore Scola.

Los años 60 fueron los de su consagración en Hollywood: de hecho comenzaron con la conquista en 1961 del Óscar por su papel de madre solitaria en un mundo en guerra en ‘La Ciociara’ (1960). De nuevo con De Sica.

Fue la primera vez que la Academia estadounidense otorgaba este premio a una actriz de una película no inglesa. Pocos años antes Anna Magnani lo había ganado con «The rose tattoo» (1955) pero aquella era una producción en lengua inglesa.

Después llegarían trabajos como «La condesa de Hong Kong» (1967), de Charles Chaplin y con un Marlon Brando que, según reconocería ella después en sus memorias, trató de propasarse. «No te atrevas. Deberías tenerme miedo», le espetó.

A lo largo de su carrera, «La Loren», como se la conoce popularmente, ha trabajado con las mayores estrellas del cine, desde Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra y Peter Sellers hasta Clark Gable, Richard Burton, Jack Lemon, Paul Newman o Walter Matthau.

Así, en 1991 llegó su Óscar honorífico por su «formidable» trayectoria y que recibió de las manos de Gregory Peck (ella se lo entregaría a él en 1963).

Pero naturalmente su vida también tuvo contratiempos, como cuando acabó en la cárcel en 1983 acusada de evasión fiscal -casi como su personaje de Adelina de ‘Ieri, Oggi e Domani’-, aunque el Tribunal Supremo acabaría dándole la razón más de tres décadas después.

Además, está curiosamente emparentada con los descendientes del dictador Benito Mussolini después de que su hermana Maria se casara con el pianista Romano Mussolini.

El tiempo la convertiría en un icono de mujer mediterránea y de carácter -su mirada rasgada inspiró el diseño de los faros del ‘Peugeot 504’- pero, a pesar de su paso irrefrenable y de los achaques de la edad, nunca ha abandonado el cine.

Su última película ha sido ‘La vita davanti a sè’ (2020), de su hijo Edoardo Ponti y que le valió su séptimo Premio David de Donatello, el mayor reconocimiento cinematográfico de su país.

En la ceremonia, Loren, emocionada y algo temblorosa, recordó que habían pasado más de 60 años desde que lo ganara por primera vez, por ‘La Ciociara’, con solo 27 años.

«Puede que esta sea mi última película, no lo sé, pero después de tantas tengo todavía ganas de hacer una cada vez más hermosa porque yo, sin cine, no puedo vivir», confesó entre sollozos la gran actriz italiana, siempre reverenciada por el público.

Sophia Loren turns 90: The Italian film diva’s roles and international awards

By euronews
This article was originally published in Italian
An Italian and international icon who has made the history of world cinema, Sophia Loren is 90 years old. From the David di Donatello to the Oscars, via the Palme d’Or, here are the awards she has won during her career.

Sophia Loren, undisputed diva of Italian cinema, turns 90 years old today.

A timeless icon on the national and international scene, Sophia Loren made history in world cinema, becoming one of the most famous and influential actresses worldwide from the 1960s onwards.

The Italian actress with French citizenship bewitched Hollywood thanks to her beauty and her ability to masterfully interpret roles ranging from comedy to drama.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella issued the following statement: “On the occasion of her birthday, I would like to send her my heartfelt best wishes, together with the Republic’s thanks for her extraordinary career as a film performer, marked by the attribution of numerous prestigious national and international awards.”

His message continued: “Her elegance, charm and inimitable acting have characterised a large number of Italian and foreign films, which have contributed to the best history of cinema, making her an image of Italian beauty and art in the world.”

A troubled youth before success

Born in Rome on 20 September 1934, Sofia Villani Scicolone had a troubled childhood. Her mother Romilda Villani, a piano teacher, and her father Riccardo Scicolone, an employee of the State Railways, were not married. Her father was a largely absent figure, which forced her and her mother to live in precarious economic conditions.

In 1932, her mother won a competition in Hollywood as a lookalike for the Italian actress Greta Garbo. However, when she became pregnant, she gave up on leaving Italy. Indeed, she was forced to return to Pozzuoli by her family due to economic difficulties. Sofia spent her childhood and early teenage years there, experiencing the bombings of the Second World War at first hand.

Her life changed in 1950, when at the age of fifteen, Sofia entered and won her first beauty contest. Thanks to the prize money she and her mother were able to return to Rome. This Miss Elegance title led her father to complain, citing alleged prostitution; however, it was also made directors and producers notice her for the first time.

Among them was Carlo Ponti, who was to become her future husband. The Franco-Italian film producer offered her a seven-year contract to act in his films. Thus began not only a professional partnership, but also an intense love affair.

Ponti, then 38 years old, was married with two children. In 1956, he went to Mexico and obtained a divorce, which was not yet allowed in Italy. In 1965, Ponti also officially divorced in France and married Loren. Their long marriage, in which the two had two children, lasted until the latter’s death.

After their union, President Georges Pompidou granted them both French citizenship.

Hollywood debut in the 1960s

It was Ponti who suggested she change her surname to Loren, as it sounded better on the international market.

The young actress’s ambition didn’t limit itself to Italy – Hollywood took notice.

Her first film debut took place as early as 1953, alongside leading figures in Italian cinema. Her first film, Aida, produced by Ponti, was followed by, among others, Due notti con Cleopatra with Alberto Sordi, L’oro di Napoli directed by Vittorio De Sica, Miseria e nobiltà with Totò and La donna del fiume by Mario Soldati.

In Peccato che sia una canaglia (1954), directed by Alessandro Blasetti, Loren starred for the first time with actor Marcello Mastroianni: the film launched one of the most famous and iconic couples of Italian cinema.

They teamed up once more in Ieri oggi domani (1963), an episodic film directed by Vittorio De Sica, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1965. The famous seduction scene played by the Loren-Mastroianni couple remains iconic. He made eight films with De Sica, almost all with Mastroianni.

In 1955, international recognition began to arrive. The well-known US magazine Life dedicated a cover to her and, in the same year, she became the most photographed actress at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In the 1960s, Loren achieved international success, making a splash in Hollywood and becoming the symbol of Italian beauty in the world. In those years she worked alongside actors such as Cary Grant – with whom she admitted to having had a flirtation – William Holden, John Wayne, Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra and with established American directors, including Charlie Chaplin.

During these years, the actress also took part in various European film productions, including her role in Madame Sans-Gêne (1961), directed by French director Christian-Jaque, in which Loren played the laundress Catherine.

From the 1970s Loren’s film appearances were reduced, coinciding with her motherhood. After a series of unfortunate attempts, her two sons with Ponti were born: Carlo Jr. in 1968 and Edoardo in 1973.

Italian and international awards

Sophia Loren has won a total of 28 awards and received 9 nominations.

Among the awards are two Oscars. Her role as Cesira – initially offered to Anna Magnani – in La Ciociara (1960), a film produced by Ponti and directed by Vittorio De Sica, won her the statuette for Best Actress in 1962. It was the first non-English-language performance to win it. Loren, however, did not attend the ceremony for fear of fainting from emotion, she said.

In 1991, she won an honorary Oscar, which together with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 and the David di Donatello in 1999 makes the triptych of her lifetime achievement awards.

Loren is also the Italian actress to have won the most David di Donatello for Best Actress in the history of the award: no fewer than seven, out of the eleven total Davids she has won. The last was in 2021, for La vita davanti a sé by her son Edoardo Ponti.

“The first time I received a David di Donatello was more than sixty years ago, but tonight still feels like the first,” she said on that occasion. “The emotion is the same. Without cinema I cannot live,” she added.

Other awards she has won include five Golden Globe awards, two awards at the Venice Film Festival, one award at the Cannes Film Festival, one award at the Berlin Film Festival, eleven David di Donatello awards, four Nastri d’Argento awards, one Bafta award and one César award.

In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her 21st among the greatest American film actresses of all time.

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