Sophia Loren’s Hidden Diary Secrets Revealed
Life wasn’t always so glamorous for Sophia Loren. The iconic Italian actress was born under nontraditional circumstances in Rome in 1934, as Sofia Villani Scicolone. Her father, a construction engineer reportedly of noble Italian descent, was known to spend much of his time seducing young actresses.
An Italian Icon Is Born
One of those actresses was Loren’s mother, Romilda Villani. Neither of them knew their daughter would one day conquer hearts around the world through her command of the big screen that they both so loved. Neither did anyone know then that Loren would eventually go on to have an explosive career and have many famous men competing for her affection.
Complex Family Life
After Sophia Loren was born, her mother moved back to her home town of Pozzuoli, a far less affluent city in Italy. She took her young daughter with her, and her father, Riccardo Scicolone, remained in Rome. “That pig was free to marry me, but instead he dumped me and married another woman,” Loren’s mother has said. On her path to fame though, the young Loren would overcome some of the most challenging years of her life.
In Her Mother’s Shadow
Loren’s mother also happened to be a glamorous woman who apparently resembled famous American actress Greta Garbo. In her youth, Loren’s mother was offered to travel to the United States to play Garbo’s body double, an opportunity that would seem surreal to any teenage girl. Her traditional Italian parents disapproved, claiming she was too young to be shipped off to Hollywood. But Romilda Villani never gave up on acting, nor would she let her own daughter pass up on similar opportunities in the future.
Before The Red Carpet
Life in Pozzuoli was not easy for Sophia Loren. She was raised in severe poverty, sharing a bedroom with eight people at her grandparents’ home and living with other relatives. Loren’s father had abandoned her, leaving Loren and her mother without child support or a father figure. Conditions eventually got so bad in the struggling city that Loren’s mother would sometimes take water from the car radiator to feed to her daughters. Soon, world events out of their control would change their lives forever. However, Loren would amazingly overcome them all.
