Born out of wedlock in fascist Italy, Sofia Scicolone seemed destined for a life of shame, poverty, and suffering. That she survived the bombings, food shortages, and epidemics of World War II was a miracle in itself. But she went on to astound the world as Sophia Loren, one of the most beautiful and talented superstars of this century. She costarred with Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra in her very first international film, and went on to work opposite many of their peers, including Clark Gable, John Wayne, Alan Ladd, William Holden, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, David Niven, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Quinn, Peter Finch, Omar Sharif, and Richard Burton. Sophia Loren reveals the truth behind the legend who was once described as Italy's most perfect - and enigmatic - work of art since the Mona Lisa. The story of her rise from homely and skinny toothpick to awesome love goddess begins with Sophia's frustrated mother, a Greta Garbo lookalike who transferred her own dreams of stardom to her daughter. Following a chance meeting with producer Carlo Ponti, Sophia became his "protegee", acting in some of his films and becoming the married Ponti's mistress. Sophia and Ponti have been together ever since. For nearly two decades they were treated like criminals in Italy, where, until 1970, citizens were denied the right to divorce without approval from the Vatican. Facing criminal prosecution, Sophia and Ponti became exiles. The story of how they were eventually able to return to Italy, only to be later prosecuted for alleged tax evasion, is just part of author Warren G. Harris's intimate portrait of one of the celebrity world's most remarkable - and secretive - marriages.Also covered in depth are Sophia's remarkable personal relationships with Cary Grant, Peter Sellers, Richard Burton, and others who fell under her spell. The Pontis are one of the wealthiest couples in Europe. Their magnificent villa near Rome once contained a collection of paintings and antiques worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Though Ponti produced the majority of Sophia's films, their fortune was built largely from his earnings from two movies that he made without her - the worldwide blockbusters Doctor Zhivago and Blow-Up. Most of Sophia's films for Hollywood were box-office duds. But under master director Vittorio De Sica, Sophia won an Oscar as Best Actress of 1961 for Two Women, the only time in the history of the Academy Awards that a non-English-speaking performance was so honored. De Sica costarred Sophia with Marcello Mastroianni in two comedies that quickly established them as one of the screen's supreme acting teams. But Sophia wanted nothing more than to be a mother, and she eventually gave birth to two sons, Carlo in 1968 and Edoardo in 1973, after a heartbreaking series of miscarriages. She then branched into commerce and earned millions with her "Sophia" perfume and a line of eyeglass frames that she designed. With Sophia now in her sixties, her luminous qualities remain undimmed and her infrequent screen appearances are still a joy to watch.