An Academy Tribute to Sophia Loren at the Academy

In 1961, Sophia Loren earned the first Academy Award presented to a lead performer in a non-English speaking role for Two Women, directed by her longtime collaborator, Vittorio De Sica. Yet even before that stunning dramatic portrayal, Loren had made an indelible impression on film audiences, both in her native Italy and throughout the world. De Sica directed Loren to another Oscar nomination in Marriage Italian Style (1964) opposite her most frequent co-star, Marcello Mastroianni. The two starred in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964), the winner of that year's Foreign Language Film Academy Award for Italy, and A Special Day (1977), which was also nominated in that category.  Adept at dramatic, comedic and romantic roles, intelligent, witty and sexy, Loren traveled effortlessly between Hollywood and international productions, delivering memorable performances opposite many great leading men, including Cary Grant (Houseboat, 1958), Clark Gable (It Started in Naples, 1960), Charlton Heston (El Cid, 1961), Gregory Peck (Arabesque, 1966), Marlon Brando (A Countess from Hong Kong, 1967, directed by Charles Chaplin), Peter O'Toole (Man of La Mancha, 1972), and Richard Burton (The Voyage, 1974). Her long marriage to producer Carlo Ponti yielded many wonderful roles for the actress, as well as two sons, Carlo Jr. and Edoardo.  Loren's career and peerless beauty remain impressive today.  The remarkable film career of this Oscar-winning Italian actress will be celebrated with a gala evening of film clips and personal remarks from her friends and colleagues, concluding with an intimate onstage conversation with this legendary star.  The event will take place in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Wednesday, May 4, at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $5/person for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID.