Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Culture
    2. Celebrity News

    Sophia Loren: The Wit And Wisdom Of A Screen Goddess

    As the legendary Italian actress Sophia Loren turns 80, we celebrate her best quotes and most gorgeously stylish snaps of all time. Sophia's total belief in the power of self-confidence is a serious inspiration.

    By Francesca Rice
    Published 19 September 2014 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Sophia Loren
    Sophia Loren
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    As the legendary Italian actress Sophia Loren turns 80, we celebrate her best quotes and most gorgeously stylish snaps of all time. Sophia's total belief in the power of self-confidence is a serious inspiration.

    1. 'Sex appeal is fifty per cent what you've got and fifty per cent what people think you've got.' 

    2. 'A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.'

    3. 'At the dressing table, every woman has a chance to be an artist, and Art, as Aristotle said, "completes what nature left unfinished".'

    4. 'It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are a part of the dues one pays for a full life.' 

    You may like
    • A woman doing yoga in a studio in shorts and a workout bra Experts Say These Are the 9 Healthy Ageing Habits Midlife Women Often Miss
    • Madonna's Confessions II: Madonna performs at TSX Stage in Times Square on June 4, 2026 in New York City. Madonna's Confessions II Deserves to Be the Album of the Summer, But the Response Proves We Still Punish Women for Ageing
    • Charlotte Mensah Afro Hair Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display

    5. 'You have to be born a sex symbol. You don't become one. If you're born with it, you'll have it even when you're 100 years old.'

    6. 'Many people think they want things, but they don't really have the strength, the discipline. They are weak. I believe that you get what you want if you want it badly enough.'

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    7. 'I'm a giraffe. I even walk like a giraffe with a long neck and legs. It's a pretty dumb animal, mind you.'

    8. 'Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.'

    9. 'There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.'

    What to read next
    • Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
    • Alisha Boe "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It": Actor Alisha Boe on Why She'll Never Give Up Her Signature Scent
    • Cara My Life in London Cara Delevingne on Designing Her First Collection for Topshop and London's Best-Kept Secrets

    10. 'I think the quality of sexiness comes from within.'

    11. 'If you haven't cried, your eyes can't be beautiful.'

    12. 'I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now.'

    13. 'Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful.'

    Francesca Rice
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    A woman doing yoga in a studio in shorts and a workout bra
    Wellbeing Experts Say These Are the 9 Healthy Ageing Habits Midlife Women Often Miss
    Madonna's Confessions II: Madonna performs at TSX Stage in Times Square on June 4, 2026 in New York City.
    Culture Madonna's Confessions II Deserves to Be the Album of the Summer, But the Response Proves We Still Punish Women for Ageing
     
     
    Charlotte Mensah Afro Hair
    Hair Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display
    Julia Restoin Roitfeld Marie Claire'd Anatomy of A Wardrobe
    Fashion 'I Function Better With Less': Julia Restoin-Roitfeld on Timeless Style, Wardrobe Investments and Borrowing From Her Mother’s Closet
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in Features
    Charlotte Mensah Afro Hair
    Hair Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display
    Aesthetics Safety
    Beauty "What Did She Expect?"—The Sexism and Classism Behind The UK’s Aesthetics Safety Crisis
     
     
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Expensive beauty products, luxury beauty
    Beauty The Expensive Products That Are Actually Worth It, According to Beauty Editors Who’ve Tried Thousands
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.