40 Secrets About Sophia Loren That Shed New Light On The Screen Legend
With a career spanning more than seven decades, Sophia Loren is one of the most enduring silver-screen actresses still working today. But how much do you really know about the Oscar-winning film legend? Here’s a look at 40 things that might surprise you about the lady dubbed the “Italian Marilyn Monroe.”
40. She had an unflattering childhood nickname
Loren may have been nicknamed the Italian Marilyn Monroe during her rise to fame in the 1960s. But the silver-screen icon was given a much less flattering moniker in her childhood. Indeed, “Toothpick” was the title given to the inherently shy star as a youngster due to her naturally skinny frame.
39. She said ‘no’ to Cary Grant’s offer of marriage
You can’t imagine many women declining a proposal from Hollywood’s most debonair leading man at the time, Cary Grant. But that’s exactly what Loren did when she was in her early 20s. Grant, who was 30 years Loren’s senior, asked for her hand in marriage after the pair had filmed The Pride and the Passion but was rejected. However, the pair still maintained a close friendship.
38. She’s done time
Who’d have thought that the respectable Sophia Loren would have done time? But after being charged with tax evasion, Loren was given the option to either serve a 30-day prison term or be banished from her Italian homeland. Unsurprisingly, the star chose the former. However, she ended up only spending a little over a fortnight in jail, completing the rest of the prison sentence under house arrest.
37. She once had all her jewelry robbed
A quaint cottage in the heart of the English countryside was the unlikely scene of a robbery in which all of Loren’s jewelry was taken. Indeed, a criminal nicknamed The Cat was reportedly responsible for the theft, which saw the thief break into her room at Hertfordshire’s Country Club. The star was filming The Millionaires alongside legendary comic actor Peter Sellers at the time.
