Hollywood legend Sophia Loren was married to Italian producer Conti Ponti and the duo had two children together until his death. Details about her love life and kids explored.
Sophia Loren was one of the most in-demand screen actresses. She is best known for her roles in Two Women (1961), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Marriage Italian-Style (1964) — and for the iconic photo of her seemingly giving side-eye to Jayne Mansfield at a 1957 dinner party.
Her career has spanned decades, and seven years after her last TV credit, the Italian actress is returning to the screen for the Netflix film The Life Ahead.
In addition to acting in some of the Hollywood‘s most critically acclaimed works, Sophia was married to a top film producer.
Keep reading for a detailed look at Sophia Loren’s family tree.
Who is Sophia Loren?
Sophia Loren is a legendary film star from Italy.
The 60s film icon was due to open the fourth eatery in her chain in the Italian city of Bari on Tuesday, but all of her upcoming engagements have now been cancelled.
The 89-year-old Hollywood icon recently made an appearance at the Armani fashion show in Venice on September 2.
This year, the Italian actress was named as one of the greatest stars of classical Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.
She is one of the last surviving major icons from the golden era.
The 89-year-old last acted in the 2020 Netflix film The Life Ahead, which was directed by her son Edoardo.
She picked up a David di Donatello Award for best actress in the movie.
At the time of its release, she told Ew.com: “I love cinema so much. I want to keep doing it forever. I know it’s difficult to find good stories, but sometimes I fall in love with the right ones. I intend to make movies forever.”
Her most renowned films include Two Women (1961), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) and Marriage Italian Style (1964).
Who is Sophia Loren married to?
Sophia Loren is currently unmarried and hence, she has no husband or spouse. However, she was in a longterm marriage to Carlo Ponti, an Italian film producer.
Loren first met Ponti in 1950, when she was 15 and he was 37.
At the time of their meeting, Ponti was still married to his ex-wife, Giuliana Fiastri, whom they married from 1946 to 1957.
Though Ponti had been long separated from his first wife, Giuliana, he was not legally divorced when Loren married him by proxy (two male lawyers stood in for them) in Mexico on 17 September 1957. The couple had their marriage annulled in 1962 to escape bigamy charges, but continued to live together. In 1965, they became French citizens after their application was approved by then French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou.
Ponti then obtained a divorce from Giuliana in France, allowing him to marry Loren on 9 April 1966.
Loren remained married to Carlo Ponti until his death on 10 January 2007 from pulmonary complications.
In 1962, Loren’s sister Maria married the youngest son of Benito Mussolini, Romano, with whom she had two daughters, Alessandra, a former MP and MEP, and Elisabetta.
Who was Carlo Ponti?
Carlo Ponti (real name: Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr.) was a famed Italian film producer who was born on December 11, 1912, in Magenta, Italy.
He was born to his parents and his grandfather was the mayor of his home city.
Ponti studied law at the University of Milan. He joined his father’s law firm in Milan and became involved in the film business through negotiating contracts.
As a film producer, he had more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cinema post-World War II, producing some of the country’s most acclaimed and financially-successful films of the 1950s and 1960s.
Ponti worked with many of the most important directors of Italian cinema of the era, including Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Vittorio De Sica, as well as many international directors. He helped launch the career of his wife, international film star Sophia Loren. He won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film for La Strada (1954) and was nominated for Best Picture for producing Doctor Zhivago (1965). In 1996, he was appointed as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
Ponti died in Geneva, Switzerland, from pulmonary complications on 10 January 2007. His body rests in the family tomb in Magenta, Lombardy.
How many children does Sophia Loren have?
Sophia Loren is a mother of two. She has two children – all sons from her marriage to late husband, Carlo Ponti.
The names of her kids are Carlo Ponti Jr. and Edoardo Ponti.
Her first child, Carlo, was born on 29 December 1968, and his second kid, Edoardo, was born on 6 January 1973.
Loren’s daughters-in-law are Sasha Alexander and Andrea Meszaros. Loren has four grandchildren and two of them are Lucia Sofia Ponti and Vittorio Leone Ponti.
She is also a stepmother to her late spouse’s children from his previous marriage. Carlo Ponti and his ex-wife, Giuliana, had two children, a son named Alessandro “Alex” (b. 1953) and daughter called Guendolina (b. 1951).
In her 2015 memoir, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life, Sophia said that being a mom was the “greatest role of [her] life.”
Sophia Loren’s children are involved in the arts as well.
Carlo Ponti Jr. is an orchestra conductor, and he worked as an associate for the Russian National Orchestra for 18 years.
He also founded the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra. He has been married to Andrea Meszaros since 2004, and the pair have two children together.
Sophia’s younger son, Edoardo, is a film director — and he worked on The Life Ahead with his mom. He has been married to Rizzoli & Isles and NCIS actress Sasha Alexander since 2007. The couple has a daughter named Lucia together, and a son named Leonardo.
What happened to Sophia Loren?
Sophia Loren has been rushed to hospital for emergency surgery following a bad fall at her home.
She was left with multiple fractures after the accident in the bathroom of her Swiss home on Sunday.
The horror fall left Loren with several fractures to her hip and a serious fracture to her femur, which required emergency surgery.
The news was announced by her self-titled restaurant chain who wrote on Instagram yesterday: “A fall at her home in Geneva today caused Ms Loren hip fractures.
“Operated with a positive outcome, she will now have to observe a short period of recovery and follow a road to rehabilitation.
“Thankfully everything worked out for the best and the Lady will be back with us very soon.”
They added: “The whole team at Sophia Loren Restaurant takes this opportunity to wish her a speedy recovery.”
Loren’s two sons Carlo Jr, 55, and Edoardo, 50, from her marriage to late husband Carlo Ponti have been at her bedside since she was admitted to hospital.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a source close to Loren said that there is “cautious optimism” about the operation’s outcome, but that it will require a long rehabilitation.