“Nothing, not even winning an Oscar, can compete with the pleasure and sense of accomplishment it has given me,” Sophia Loren said of her motherhood.
Sophia Loren's childhood was far from easy as she grew up during World War II. Nevertheless, she harbored grand dreams of becoming an actress, inspired by the likes of Rita Hayworth. Despite the hardships of her upbringing, she persevered and achieved international fame after signing a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1958 and winning international awards for her film Two Women.
While working on the movie The Pride and the Passion, she began dating Carlo Ponti Sr., who was 20 years her senior. He proposed to her during that time.
After a successful 20-year stint as a successful actress, Loren decided to step away from the spotlight and embrace motherhood when she gave birth to her two beautiful sons. In her 1984 book Women And Beauty, she candidly wrote, “If necessary, I would have given up my work to have a child. If this means I am not modern, then I am not modern. I believe an infant needs to be with its mother as much as possible,” per Closer Weekly.
The Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow star said those feelings intensified the moment her first child arrived. “You may have guessed by now that I believe that motherhood is the greatest role of my life,” she wrote in her memoir. “Nothing, not even winning an Oscar, can compete with the pleasure and sense of accomplishment it has given me.”
Sophia shared that although some women may use their motherhood desires “creatively in their work or by living lives devoted to ideas,” but, for her, she writes, “Nothing could substitute for motherhood.”
Sophia's sons, Carlos Jr. and Edoardo have both grown up to be successful in their own right, although they may not have attained the same level of fame as their mother.
Edoardo, her second son, shared his perspective on growing up as the child of one of the world's top actresses, per Hollywood Life. He expressed, “Many actors, many actresses... when they hit the level of fame that she has, that fame becomes their identity because it feeds their ego. With my mother, that was never the case … What always fed her life force was her family. We were never overshadowed as a family or as children by her accomplishments. We always were made to feel like we were her best accomplishments.”
The children take great pride in their mother's achievements, per Deadline. Edoardo, who directed and co-wrote a movie with Sophia called The Life Ahead, expressed his immense pride in her skills. He said, "I'm very, very proud of my mother because, you know, she's a survivor. She's a thoroughbred in the best sense of the word. She will never give up until she gets it right and she'll reach that level of authenticity for the character."
References:
https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/sophia-lorens-kids-meet-carlo-ponti-jr-and-edoardo-ponti/
https://hollywoodlife.com/feature/sophia-loren-kids-4737988/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Fox Photos/ Hulton Archive
