Editing Sophia Loren (section)

=== International stardom ===
[[File:Sophia Loren - 1959.jpg|thumb|200px|Loren in 1959]][[File:Sophia Loren 1961.jpg|thumb|Drawing of Loren by [[Nicholas Volpe]] after she won an Oscar for ''Two Women'' (1961)|left|230x230px]]
Loren became an international film star following her five-picture contract with [[Paramount Pictures]] in 1958. Among her films at this time were ''[[Desire Under the Elms (film)|Desire Under the Elms]]'' with [[Anthony Perkins]], based upon the [[Eugene O'Neill]] play; ''[[Houseboat (film)|Houseboat]]'', a romantic comedy co-starring [[Cary Grant]]; and [[George Cukor]]'s ''[[Heller in Pink Tights]]'', in which she appeared as a blonde for the first time. In 1960, Loren starred in [[Vittorio De Sica]]'s ''[[Two Women]]'', a stark, gritty story of a mother who is trying to protect her 12-year-old daughter in war-torn Italy. The two end up gang-raped inside a church as they travel back to their home city following cessation of bombings there. Originally cast as the daughter, Loren fought against type and was eventually cast as the mother (actress [[Eleonora Brown]] would portray the daughter). Loren's performance earned her many awards, including the [[Cannes Film Festival]]'s best performance prize, and an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]], the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance or to an Italian actress. She won 22 international awards for ''Two Women''. The film was extremely well received by critics and a huge commercial success. Though proud of this accomplishment, Loren did not show up to this award, citing fear of fainting at the award ceremony. Nevertheless, Cary Grant telephoned her in Rome the next day to inform her of the [[Oscar award]].{{sfn|Loren|2015|pp=135–140}}
During the 1960s, Loren was one of the most popular actresses in the world, and continued to make films in the United States and Europe, starring with prominent leading men. In 1961 and 1964, her career reached its pinnacle when she received $1 million to appear in [[El Cid (film)|''El Cid'']] and ''[[The Fall of the Roman Empire (film)|The Fall of the Roman Empire]]''. In 1965, she received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance in ''[[Marriage Italian-Style]]'' opposite Marcello Mastroianni.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Oscar's Favorite Actors: The Winningest Stars (and More Who Should Be)|last=Leslie|first=Roger|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|year=2017|isbn=9781476669564|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=277}}</ref>

Among Loren's best-known films of this period are [[Samuel Bronston]]'s [[epic film|epic production]] of ''El Cid'' with [[Charlton Heston]], ''[[The Millionairess]]'' (1960) with [[Peter Sellers]], ''[[It Started in Naples]]'' (1960) with [[Clark Gable]], Vittorio De Sica's triptych ''[[Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow]]'' (1963) with Marcello Mastroianni, [[Peter Ustinov]]'s ''[[Lady L]]'' (1965) with [[Paul Newman]], ''[[Arabesque (1966 film)|Arabesque]]'' (1966) with [[Gregory Peck]], and [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s final film, ''[[A Countess from Hong Kong]]'' (1967) with [[Marlon Brando]].

Loren received four [[Golden Globe Award]]s between 1964 and 1977 as "World Film Favorite&nbsp;– Female".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/sophia-loren |title=Sophia Loren |website=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Sophia Loren in "Judith", 1966.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Sophia Loren in a still from ''[[Judith (1966 film)|Judith]]'' (1966)]]