3rd February 2012

Rejection: Sophia Loren said she saw in Carlo Ponti's demeanor the 'legitimate family' she never had

Sophia Loren has told why she refused one of Hollywood’s greatest male stars to stay with a man 22 years her senior.
She chose to remain with film producer Carlo Ponti over Cary Grant because he was more of a father figure to her, she has revealed.
The screen icon said that she saw the ‘legitimate family’ she never knew in Ponti’s quiet, academic demeanour.
In a rare interview she also revealed that she could not ‘marry a giant from another country’ as she wanted to be with an Italian.
Loren was born in 1934 in Rome on a ward for unwed mothers. Her father was already married to another woman and refused to take responsibility for her.
She met Ponti for the first time at the age of 16 at a beauty contest he was judging. He was 38, married with two children and a distinctly middle-aged disposition.
Three years later he had left his wife and they were married - but when she met Grant on the set of the 1958 romantic comedy Houseboat he tried to lure her away.

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Despite daily deliveries of flowers from one of Hollywood’s leading men, Loren said she shunned his advances.

Flashback: Sophia Loren and Cary Grant - one of Hollywood's greatest male stars - in the 1958 film Houseboat. He tried to lure her away from her husband

Loren, 77, said: ‘You know, I had to make a choice, Carlo was Italian; he belonged to my world.
‘I know it was the right thing to do, for me.
‘At the time I didn’t have any regrets, I was in love with my husband. I was very affectionate with Cary, but I was 23 years old.
‘I couldn’t make up my mind to marry a giant from another country and leave Carlo. I didn’t feel like making the big step.’

Hollywood couple: Carlo Ponti with his wife Sophia arriving for a state dinner at the White House

In the interview with Vanity Fair Loren admitted she craved ‘a legitimate husband, children, a family like anybody else’.
She added that the root cause of her behaviour was ‘the experience I had with my father.’
Loren’s career lasted five decades during which time she won 21 awards including the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 1960 Italian drama Two Women.
She remained with Ponti until his death at the age of 94 in 2007, something she is still coming to terms with.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Loren said: ‘My life is not a fairytale and it’s painful still to speak about it.’