Sophia Loren

First acting Oscar for a foreign language performance

Facts

• Born: 1934
• Country: Italy
• Field: Film
• Era: Television Age

Overview

Rome born actress raised in wartime poverty in Pozzuoli near Naples, who became an international star in the 1950s. Her performance in Two Women 1960, directed by Vittorio De Sica, won the Academy Award for Best Actress, the first acting Oscar for a performance in a language other than English. She made a celebrated series of films with Marcello Mastroianni, including Marriage Italian Style 1964, and received an honorary Oscar in 1991.