Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren feud: Two Women star pays tribute to late rival

Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian actress, who was once known as the Mona Lisa of the 20th century died at the age of 95 on Monday, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Lollobrigida shot to fame in the 1950s as a Mediterranean sex symbol and later became a photographer and sculptor after stepping away from the entertainment industry. She made a foray into politics last year, standing in the Italian general election just after her 95th birthday. However, she failed in the election. 

Tributes are pouring in for Lollobrigida and one of the first ones to pay tribute to “La Lollo” was Sophia Loren. Loren said in a statement that the death of her contemporary had “deeply shaken and saddened” her.  

Both the divas had parallel careers in Italy and Hollywood at a time when competition in the entertainment industry was cust-throat and hence they were considered rivals.

In 2017, Lollobrigida’s feelings toward Loren were apparent with her telling the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that she “was not looking for any rivalry against anyone” as she described herself as the “number one.”

When both of them were career rivals, both of them reportedly shared a war of words, with Loren describing herself as the “bustier” of the two. Lollobrigida retorted by saying that Sophia could “play a peasant, but never a lady.”

Lollobrigida later described the feud as a pr stunt by Loren’s team. She blamed her for keeping it alive for decades. 

 Loren was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Hollywood. After Lollobrigida’s death, she is one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema and is the only remaining living person to appear on the AFI’s list of the 25 greatest female stars of American film history, positioned at the number 21.