Born Sofia Villani Scicolone in Rome, Italy, Sophia Loren embodies the voluptuous sex pot but most would be surprised to learn that until the age of 14, the Italian beauty was considered to be an ugly duckling, bearing the names, “Toothpick” and “Stick” throughout her childhood.
Loren attributes her sultry figure to a popular Italian dish, musing, “everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” As for her unconventional features, she is thankful to her dear mother, Romilda Villani. “I’am lucky” Loren says when asked about her ageless beauty, “I had a very beautiful mother.”
The photographs below were taken by her close friend and LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt’s, circa 1961.
Leave a Reply