从私生女到国际巨星，35美元的火车票开启了她的成功之路，与玛利莲-梦露、碧姬-芭铎和简-方达一起并称60年代的四大性感美女，《卡桑德拉大桥》中的女主角——索菲亚-罗兰的那两片蝴蝶型的厚厚嘴唇就是能让你过目不忘……

Born Sofia Scicolone, on Sept. 20, 1934, in Rome. An illegitimate child of Romilda Villani and Riccardo Scicolone, she grew up in dire poverty, in the slums of Pozzuoli, just outside Naples during wartime. 

Her mother, a frustrated actress, instilled starring aspirations in the skinny little Sofia (she was nicknamed Stechetto--the stick--at the time).  Her first taste of glamour came at fourteen when she was crowned one of twelve "Princesses of the Sea" in a beauty contest ---- an honor for which she earned a railroad ticket to Rome, and 23,000 lira (about $35).

Sofia met producer and future husband Carlo Ponti while competing in another beauty contest. Though she placed second, Ponti gave her a screen test and he advanced her career in a succession of low-budget Italian productions. 

Sofia Lazzaro, as she was then known, became Sophia Loren in 1952. Sophia then came to Hollywood. She signed a contract with Paramount for her first English-speaking role. Once on the set, she fell in love with her co-star Cary Grant.

In 1961 she received an Academy Award for "La Ciociara" ("Two Women").  This beautiful lady then became one of the major sex symbol of the sixties, competing with Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda.

Sophia gained wider respect with her later movies like "Cassandra Crossing" (1976), "Una Giornata Particolare" (1977) and "Pret a Porter" (1994). A lot of her movies were produced by her husband. 

重点词汇

Cassandra Crossing  n. 电影《卡桑德拉大桥》
Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda
（60年代著名女影星）玛利莲-梦露、碧姬-芭铎、简-方达

dire  a. 可怕的，悲惨的

slum  n. 贫民区

glamour  n. 魔力, 魅力

crown  v. 加冕，表彰

instill  v. 慢慢地灌输

aspiration  n. 热望, 渴望

low-budget  a. 低成本的

Paramount  n. 美国派拉蒙影业公司