Picture of Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren in La Donna del fiume/The River Girl (Mario Soldati, 1954). This was one of the films that brought Loren to the attention of Paramount Pictures who signed her to a five year contract in 1956). And that led to her international stardom. She is the only living actress on the American Film Institute's list of "Greatest Female Stars of the Classic Hollywood Cinema." Think of it: she co-starred with Alan Ladd, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins, Charlton Heston, Peter Sellers, Paul Newman - all gone. She is a survivor. On screen Loren could be both glamorous and earthy, passionate and elegantly cool, fun-loving and deadly serious. However she presented herself she was always electrifying.