Considered one of the icons of Italian cinema, Sophia Loren celebrated her 88th birthday on September 20, 2022. The star, who obtained many great roles in the 1960s, was awarded several awards for her incredible acting. ‘actress. Best Actress Award at Cannes, Golden Bear of Honor at the Berlinale, BAFTA, Oscar for Best Actress… The awards have accumulated over the course of her career.

A great film career that has, however, experienced some twists and turns. In his memoirs published in 2014, the Italian star revealed that he had been in prison. A test for the muse of Italian cinema. Why was she in jail? According to her, this would be a problem that arose because of an error by her accountant. While she stayed for several years in France, the latter would not have completed his tax files on his return to his native country.

“Of course I appealed but in 1980 I was sentenced to 30 days in prison. I had to make the difficult choice between prison or never being able to return to my country of origin”, she had said and added: “My sons were 14 and 9 when I had to pack my bags. When they said goodbye to me, I tried to memorize their expressions. When I landed in Rome, a police car escorted me to Caserta prison, where prisoners were watched by nuns. I was prisoner number 24”.

A trauma for the actress. “I suffered terribly from the isolation. Nothing is more humiliating than the deprivation of liberty”, she had written and to continue: “On June 5 at 6:20 am, I left the prison to serve the rest of my sentence at home, with my mother in Rome. I was thinner, disillusioned and much wiser”. A terrible story that seems to be behind her now. What does the 88-year-old actress look like today? Find out in our slideshow.