The screen siren — often referred
to as an "Italian bombshell" in the press — turns 80 on Saturday.
Incredibly, Loren is still as much of a bombshell as ever. But what
exactly is a bombshell? Through the years, the definition hasn't changed
all that much.
[Related: Sophia Loren Opens Life Exhibit in Mexico]
The textbook bombshell
Long before Loren came along in
the '50s and '60s, the first women described as Hollywood's "bombshells"
were blonde. Mega-movie star Jean Harlow — whom many consider the
original bombshell in pop culture — sashayed onto movie screens in 1933
in the title role of Bombshell, a screwball comedy about a
bleach-blond woman men couldn't resist seeking to be taken seriously.
Ever since, women considered to be sex symbols — those that not only had
beauty, but often curves and also a certain je ne sais quoi about them — were labeled with the term.
Of course, there have been times when the typical bombshell, with her voluptuous hips and breasts, wasn't the ideal female form. In the '60s, a stick-thin Twiggy-like figure was all the rage; Kate Moss and her almost emaciated appearance referred to as "heroin chic" ruled fashion runways and magazines in the '90s. However, even during those times when less has been more, bombshells continued to thrive. During the '40s, when America was embroiled in World War II, alluring women such as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable were referred to as pin-ups. But make no mistake, they were still bombshells… just under a more socially acceptable name. Marilyn Monroe, who became the most famous bombshell of all time, came along in the '50s, pushing aside all those other curvaceous beauties. And then, there was Loren.
With her exotic looks and
graceful walk, the Italian-born-and-bred actress mesmerized and
captivated audiences around the world. And it wasn't just that she was
gorgeous — she was good! Loren became the first Oscar winner in a
foreign language performance in 1962 when she won best actress for her
turn in the Italian film Two Women. The American Film Institute announced Wednesday that it will pay tribute to the star during its annual AFI Fest in Hollywood.
Donelle Dadigan, president and founder of the Hollywood Museum, explained that Loren, with her striking good looks and impressive work, stood out even among other bombshells of her day.
"She was different in that she wasn't the blonde stereotype," Dadigan told Yahoo. "She was tall, she was statuesque, and … the world has a love affair with everything Italian. And of course, [there was] her body, but all this time, she oozed this confidence and sensuality. When she was up on the screen, everything else melted away."
'The most beautiful woman I've ever seen'
Another film buff, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, stops short of calling Loren a bombshell, even though he considers the actress "the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
"The reason why, I guess, I
never thought of her [as a bombshell] is because that feels unfair to
her, even though she probably meets whatever standard there is, I think
of her as too talented," he told Yahoo. "Even though I know many of the
women who are on many bombshell lists are ridiculously talented also.
And then I think the phrase 'Italian bombshell' minimizes her even more.
I think of her as having too much class to be a bombshell. And I say
that without any intent to [offend] any bombshells," he added with a
laugh.
"I feel like a bombshell is
marketed," Mankiewicz said of the term that was often used by the movie
studios to advertise films. "And I definitely feel like Sophia Loren is
not marketed. Sophia Loren is authentic."
Marketing was likely at play,
however, when a famous quote attributed to Loren circulated decades ago.
Now, it's so closely tied to Loren's bombshell mystique that she was
asked about it during a December 2009 interview with CBS Sunday Morning. It goes like this: "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."
"I never said it," Loren
insisted. "I owe everything to the spaghetti? It's not true. They put it
in my mouth and it still goes on. It's not true... So silly. Can you
imagine?"
The reason people latched onto
the quote is easy to understand. Audiences love a woman who's confident
enough to talk about her love of food (when she looks like she
occasionally eats it) and speak of her body not derisively, but in a way
that shows she doesn't take it too seriously. Confidence and boldness
is key for bombshells; the cultural role is about that fearlessness just
as much as it is about body type.
Modern bombshells
Hollywood beauty expert Kym Douglas
described the bombshell phenomenon well: "[It's] a woman who walks in
the room and takes command of the entire party. Her presence says... I
have arrived. A true bombshell is a woman who has confidence in who she
is and what she does, someone who is totally comfortable in their own
skin whatever size she is or isn't. Having said that, a bombshell is a
woman who has lots of sex appeal and shows it but doesn't give it away."
Women such as Scarlett
Johansson, Christina Hendricks, and Sofia Vergara have helped to keep
the bombshell tradition alive today, whether or not that's how they choose to be described.
However, the latest wave of
bombshell actresses will never be as famous as their forerunners;
there's too many of them! Now, Mankiewicz noted, movie stars and TV
stars are often the same people. Kim Kardashian, who's considered a
bombshell by many, has hardly any experience on the silver screen.
Today's so-called bombshells
also aren't thought of as being as glam as the stars of the old days.
Their images are no longer so tightly controlled by the studio. There's
social media, paparazzi photos, and live interviews. It's not easy to
remain a glamorous bombshell when photographers catch you doing a
morning grocery run without hair and makeup! For better or worse, their
personality and those unscripted moments are also part of their image.
"What we're realizing is being a bombshell is about more than just a visual," Dadigan said. "It also comes from inside."
To remember the bombshells of
yesteryear, including Loren, Mankiewicz noted that audiences can't go
wrong by sitting down to watch any of Loren's early films, which include
El Cid and Marriage Italian Style.
"When she's young and it's in
black and white, those are all worth seeing," he said. "If you can stand
it, I'd see them in Italian."
Not that you'll be able to peel your eyes away from Loren.
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