International film star and Italy’s most renowned actress Sophia Loren has been named the Guest of Honor at the 67th annual Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 14-25 in Cannes, France.
Aside from attending a screening of her new film, La Voce Umana (The Human Voice), which was directed by her son Edoardo Ponti, Loren, 79, will conduct a masterclass at the festival.
Loren began her career in 1949 after entering an Italian beauty pageant (she didn’t win), and is regarded as one of the last great sex symbols of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The two-time Oscar winner became internationally recognized after signing a five movie deal with Paramount in 1958. In 1961, Loren starred in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women, and her performance garnered her the best performance award at Cannes, and an Oscar for Best Actress, the first major Academy Award for a non-English-language performance and to an Italian actress.
Here is a clip from Two Women:
Loren also received an Honorary Academy Award in 1991, for her storied career which has so far earned her a Grammy Award, five special Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award, a Laurel Award as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievements.
The actress is also known for her sharp wit:
"A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view." Sophia Loren
— Fashion Quotes (@Fashion__Quotes) April 26, 2014
Sex appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got. ~~~ Sophia Loren
— Quotes Hour (@Quotes_hour) April 30, 2014
Over 20 features and documentaries will be screened as part of the Cannes Classics series this year, including a restored version of Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Other classics by directors including Alfred Hitchcock, Sergio Leone, Frank Capra, Jean Renoir, Wim Wenders, Francois Truffaut and Krzysztof Kieślowski will also be presented.
Image via Wikimedia Commons