The Incredible Sophia Loren.

Sophia, Sophia, Sophia. 

What an incredible woman. She was born in Rome in 1934. Her father was married to another woman and refused to to marry her mother, despite the fact that they had two children together. She grew up in the slums of Pozzuoli (near Naples) during World War II with zero support from her father.  Pozzuoli was frequently targeted by the Allies, and during one such raid she ran for cover, but was struck in the chin by a piece of shrapnel. For the remainder of the war they relocated to Naples and didn't move back to Pozzuoli until it was over. At the age of 14, she was a finalist in a beauty pageant. It was there she caught the eye of film producer Carlo Ponti, who put her under contract and began her acting career. The two married over twenty years later. 

She worked her way up from bit parts to starring roles in Italy and embarked on a career to the U.S. She went on to have a career spanning six decades and being honored with over 50 awards including an Oscar. I find her so inspiring. She is a strong, gorgeous, intelligent woman.

 "Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical."

 "Sex appeal is fifty percent what you've got and fifty percent what people think you've got."

 "If you haven't cried, your eye can't be beautiful."

 "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."

 "The facts of life are that a child who has seen war cannot be compared with a child who doesn't know what war is except from television."

 "I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now."

 "A woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."

 "The two big advantages I had at birth were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty."

 "I always try to have a vacation."

"After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."