Drumroll, Italy 🇮🇹 is in celebration! Tomorrow, the last Diva of the Golden Age, Sophia Loren, will blow out 90…

Drumroll, Italy 🇮🇹 is in celebration! Tomorrow, the last Diva of the Golden Age, Sophia Loren, will blow out 90 candles! Festivities are planned in Rome and Naples Here’s a thread 🧵 to honor this living legend ✨

Sophia turns 90! Best wishes to the icon of cinema and Italy 🇮🇹

Born in Rome on September 20, 1934, she spent her childhood in Pozzuoli in poverty. Her mother, whose own parents had prevented her from pursuing a career in Hollywood, projected all her ambitions onto her daughter Sofia.

For this reason, she took her back to Rome, where Sophia tried her luck at Cinecittà and entered several beauty contests. She made her debut in photo-novels as Sofia Lazzaro and then appeared in small film roles. In 1951, she was noticed by producer and future husband Carlo Ponti.

Her first leading role came with “Africa Under the Seas” by Giovanni Roccardi (1953) alongside Steve Barclay, an international production by Titanus where she was given the “exotic” stage name Sophia Loren.

The 1950s paved her way to Hollywood. Her international breakthrough came in 1954 with 10 films to her credit, including the memorable “The Gold of Naples” by Vittorio De Sica, a film with various episodes featuring performances by Totò, Eduardo De Filippo, Tina Pica, and De Sica himself. It was De Sica who led her to the Oscars a few years later with “Two Women” (1960), where she portrayed Cesira, a widow who, together with her teenage daughter, leaves bomb-ravaged Rome to seek refuge in her native town in Ciociaria.

Sophia worked with many of the greatest Italian and international directors: Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica, Dino Risi, Francesco Rosi, Renato Castellani, Mario Monicelli, Alberto Lattuada, Ettore Scola, Lina Wertmüller, Charlie Chaplin, Sidney Lumet, Martin Ritt, George Cukor, Henry Hathaway, and Robert Altman. She distinguished herself in both dramatic and light-hearted roles, acting alongside stars like Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Richard Burton, Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, and William Holden.

However, her partnership with Marcello Mastroianni remains unforgettable, as the two starred in 14 films together, making many of them iconic.

In “Marriage Italian Style” (1964), De Sica cast Loren as Filumena Marturano, Eduardo De Filippo’s famous heroine.

For fans, it’s impossible not to recognize Naples’ iconic Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, where the palace of Domenico Soriano (played by Mastroianni), the impudent womanizer, overlooks.

“Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”(1963), also directed by De Sica, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1965 and became a landmark in cinema history thanks to the famous striptease scene, accompanied by Mastroianni’s eager howls to the tune of "Abat-jour."

Simply iconic

The Oscar she won in 1962 for “Two Women” (she also received an Honorary Oscar in 1991) is the most prestigious of the countless awards in her acting career, which includes Golden Globes, BAFTAs, David di Donatello awards, a Volpi Cup at Venice, and more.

She also has a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her most recent role was in “The Life Ahead” (2020), directed by her son Edoardo Ponti, which earned her a David di Donatello for Best Actress.

To celebrate Sophia’s 90th birthday, numerous initiatives have been organized. The recently concluded Venice Film Festival honored the diva with a screening of the restored version of “The Gold of Naples” (Vittorio De Sica, 1954), curated by Cinecittà and Filmauro.

On September 20, a mural of the star will be unveiled in front of her childhood home at Via Solfatara 5 in Pozzuoli, just steps from the Flavian Amphitheater.

From October 5 to 8, at the Royal Palace of Naples, the Campania Region is promoting a retrospective and special screenings. On September 20, the Ministry of Culture, Cinecittà, and the Archivio Luce will pay tribute to Sophia Loren with a special private event at The Space Cinema Moderno in Rome, where one of the most beloved Italian actresses of all time will be presented with a prestigious and unique award dedicated to her.

Sophia's iconic beauty has been celebrated throughout a span of time that nearly touches an entire century.

The spectacularly clumsy yet sexy dance by Sophia in “Mambo Italiano”, a performance I pay tribute to daily and to which I owe my name.

A stunning timelapse that once again crowns the victory of the last diva over the passage of time.

Sophia, a diva, but also a woman. A mother. Reserved and discreet. Values from a bygone era.

Sophia taking us on a tour of Rome— The quintessence of Italy and Italian spirit.

What can we say? Happy Birthday, Sophia! 🎂 May today’s young women be inspired by your beauty—radiant, pure, magnetic—and by your talent, infused with passion and dedication. May you serve as an example to young actresses everywhere.

Venice Film Festival 1955 - cover pic Simply wow 🤩