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That Famous Sophia Loren / Jayne Mansfield Photo
Sophia Loren Finally Tells the Story Behind That Infamous Jayne Mansfield Photo
by Joanna Robinson
November 4, 2014 12:24 pm
By Rex/REX USA
It’s hard to pinpoint when, exactly, the first documented instance of side-eye appeared. But many credit this 1957 photo of Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield. Newcomer Loren had just skyrocketed to stardom in Europe when she became the most photographed performer at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The Beverly Hills party two years later was meant to officially welcome Loren to Hollywood. But the Italian bombshell found her spotlight unexpectedly stolen by Mansfield. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Loren confirms that, yes, she was thinking exactly what it looks like she was thinking.
"Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. . . . She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely . . . Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table."
Loren went on to explain that even though she was caught smiling or having a good time with Mansfield later in the evening, her mind was always on that dress. “No, no. Well, there may be other photos, but this is the picture. This is the one that shows how it was. This is the only picture.”
But the veteran actress, who has more than 90 film credits to her name, says that even if she was thinking all those things, she doesn’t like being associated with the photo that launched a million side-eyes.
Actually, many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don’t want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she’s not with us anymore.
In 2012, two-time Academy Award winner Loren told Vanity Fair she was reluctant to give interviews. “My life is not a fairy tale,” she said, “and it’s painful still to speak about it.” But Loren seems to have had a change of heart. She has written a memoir titled Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: My Life, which was published this month. After irresistible phrases like, “Everything in her dress is going to blow,” who doesn’t want to read more about Loren’s reign during the golden age of Hollywood?
by Joanna Robinson
November 4, 2014 12:24 pm
By Rex/REX USA
It’s hard to pinpoint when, exactly, the first documented instance of side-eye appeared. But many credit this 1957 photo of Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield. Newcomer Loren had just skyrocketed to stardom in Europe when she became the most photographed performer at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The Beverly Hills party two years later was meant to officially welcome Loren to Hollywood. But the Italian bombshell found her spotlight unexpectedly stolen by Mansfield. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Loren confirms that, yes, she was thinking exactly what it looks like she was thinking.
"Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. . . . She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely . . . Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table."
Loren went on to explain that even though she was caught smiling or having a good time with Mansfield later in the evening, her mind was always on that dress. “No, no. Well, there may be other photos, but this is the picture. This is the one that shows how it was. This is the only picture.”
But the veteran actress, who has more than 90 film credits to her name, says that even if she was thinking all those things, she doesn’t like being associated with the photo that launched a million side-eyes.
Actually, many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don’t want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she’s not with us anymore.
In 2012, two-time Academy Award winner Loren told Vanity Fair she was reluctant to give interviews. “My life is not a fairy tale,” she said, “and it’s painful still to speak about it.” But Loren seems to have had a change of heart. She has written a memoir titled Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: My Life, which was published this month. After irresistible phrases like, “Everything in her dress is going to blow,” who doesn’t want to read more about Loren’s reign during the golden age of Hollywood?
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