The Story of Sophia Loren, A Hollywood Star Who Only Loved One Man For 50 Years

Born in poverty, Sophia was an illegitimate baby of a single mother born in the charity ward of a hospital in Naples. Sofia Villani Scicolone would go on to live a real-life fairytale, and she transformed into one of the best and most loved stars of cinema. But her early life was not so glamorous, in fact, Loren shared a bed with at least three family members until she, her younger sister, and her mother moved from her mother's family home.

Her last name came from her father, Riccardo Scicolone, who refused to marry her mother, Romilda Villani, and would not allow her younger sister to take his name. According to Loren, she was taunted as a child for being illegitimate. Even as a young girl, Sophia found herself drawn to the theatre, making many trips to see her favorite Hollywood stars on the screen. She would sometimes watch four shows in a single day. And even at the age of 11, she knew her future would lay in films.

It was 1950, and a young Sophia appeared as a contestant in the Miss Eleganza beauty contest in Rome. As though a ploy by Cupid, Carlo - a renowned Italian film producer - was one of the competition judges, and from the moment she stepped on the stage, he could not take his eyes off of her. "I immediately knew that she was someone exceptional. Something played off her that gave her a kind of illumination," Carlo Ponti said of the first time he saw her.

Sophia met the love of her life, Carlo Ponti, when she was just 17 years old. At first, he was just a director for her and Carlo took an interest in training her: he taught her manners, got rid her of accent, made her read books about art, and he insisted she learn English. He became a mentor to her, he protected her, and soon a strong feeling prevailed. It was their love that helped them overcome the many obstacles to happiness.

Despite there being immediate chemistry between them, Ponti was previously married, and despite being separated from his wife, the circumstances put a halt to their romance. "To Sophia it was just unthinkable to be the 'other' woman in his life, especially after her strict and conservative upbringing that she had grown up about the sanctity of a marriage." Carlo Ponti nevertheless took her under his wing, becoming her talent agent, and changing her name from Sofia Scicolone [the name of the father who was never there for her] to Sophia Loren.