Just the name, Sophia, brings to mind in most fans this voluptuous, exotic actress. She grew up impoverished in the slums outside of Naples, a small girl nicknamed (ironically, considering her later figure) "The Stick". But, by the age of 16, she had pulled herself up by her bootstraps and started to appear in Italian films as an extra. She worked for several years (and under several names) unknown to American audiences, in smaller parts in Italian cinema. Her small role in QUO VADIS in 1951 lead to her meeting her lifelong husband, producer Carlo Ponti. Oddly, her marriage in 1957 to Ponti had to be annulled in 1962 due to legal complications (and to avoid bigamy charges) in Ponti's previous marriage. They were married again in 1966, legally, after gaining French citizenship.

After a couple of English speaking parts in the previous year, Sophia moved to Hollywood in 1958. Over the next few years, she rose to fame in such movies as DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS, HOUSEBOAT (a personal favorite), THE BLACK ORCHID, and IT STARTED IN NAPLES. In 1961, she showed that she could do more than look gorgeous and sexy, winning the Best Actress Oscar for TWO WOMEN. Ponti also had her star in a series of delightful Italian comedies after that, including YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW and MARRIAGE, ITALIAN STYLE. Some of her more famous roles over the years have been EL CID, ARABESQUE, MAN OF LA MANCHA, and, more recently, GRUMPIER OLD MEN, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau, as well as portraying both herself and her mother in a made for TV autobiography SOPHIA LOREN: HER OWN STORY in 1980. She has nearly one hundred film appearance to her credit.

My thanks to the poster of a thousand handles, Stony, for the suggestion.