--- title: Happy Birthday, Sophia Loren: Classic Photos of the Actress description: Alfred Eisenstaedt, great LIFE photographer and longtime friend of Sophia Loren, photographed the Italian actress in her days as a new mom. canonical: https://time.com/4038441/sophia-loren-1969/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T12:00:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:49.496Z og:title: Happy Birthday, Sophia Loren: See Vivid Color Photos of the Actress in the 1960s og:description: Alfred Eisenstaedt, great LIFE photographer and longtime friend of Sophia Loren, photographed the Italian actress in her days as a new mom. og:url: https://time.com/4038441/sophia-loren-1969/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta21da817632c5c92/69886408cd1bba6b7a6fd35f/150917-sophia-loren-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Sophia Loren, 1969. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Happy Birthday, Sophia Loren: See Vivid Color Photos of the Actress in the 1960s twitter:description: Alfred Eisenstaedt, great LIFE photographer and longtime friend of Sophia Loren, photographed the Italian actress in her days as a new mom. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta21da817632c5c92/69886408cd1bba6b7a6fd35f/150917-sophia-loren-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Happy Birthday, Sophia Loren: See Vivid Color Photos of the Actress in the 1960s > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: 10 Most Iconic Movie Props Ever Sold [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Most Iconic Movie Props Ever Sold](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6TcJ3ReX.m3u8) (2:48)  _Published 2014-03-21. With Premiere Props Hollywood Auction Extravaganza XIII set to sell some impressive Hollywood memorabilia, TIME looks back on how much some of the most iconic movie props have fetched._  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Sep 18, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Sophia Loren, 1969. Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Sep 18, 2015 12:00 PM UTC LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt and Italian actress Sophia Loren enjoyed a [long relationship](http://time.com/3605487/sophia-loren-rare-and-classic-photos-of-a-film-legend/) not only as artist and subject, but also as friends. It’s not surprising then, that when Loren had a baby after several miscarriages and a highly publicized struggle, it was Eisenstaedt who visited her and her producer husband Carlo Ponti in Geneva, to document the new mother doting on her baby. In Eisenstaedt’s images, Loren, who turns 81 on Sept. 20, appears simultaneously conscious of the camera and blissfully taken with little Carlo Ponti, Jr. In some, she poses as though she has done so a thousand times—because she has—and in others, Eisenstaedt captures her looking at her son as though he and his camera were thousands of miles away, back in LIFE’s New York office. The photos could just as easily have constituted a fashion spread—a celebration of the primary colors, fitted turtlenecks, big glasses and even bigger hair that ushered in the 1970s. But the star is the woman who wears them, at ease with a photographer she trusts. When asked, last year, what Eisenstaedt captured in her that other photographers couldn’t, she told LIFE.com, “That I was a girl, joyful for her life, because she accepted anything that came with her work. Just being really, completely happy.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren with her son Carlo Ponti Jr., 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren with her son Carlo Ponti Jr., 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren with her son Carlo Ponti Jr., 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sophia Loren, 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On a family stroll, Carlo Sr. shelters Sophia, who shelters Carlo Jr. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ## Transcript Ladies and gentlemen, up for auction today are ten of the most iconic movie props of all time. Let's get to bidding, shall we? Lot one, the DeLorean DMC- 12 from the 1985's Back to the Future. A stainless steel sports car with gull- wing doors and a unique, aftermarket flux capacitor. Sold. $ 528, 000. Lot 2 takes us back in time to early Hollywood. The original skeleton for the giant ape, King Kong. Originally covered with rabbit hair and rubber for his 1933 debut. All that remains of the tiny giant is his poseable stop motion frame. Sold. $ 200, 000. For lot 3, a bit more of recent special effects history, the Elder Wand from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Made of elderwood and festral heartstring, in the film at least. And possessed by both Harry and He Who Shall Not Be Named. Sold. [ SOUND ] $ 10, 000. From magic wands to magic footwear, in Lot 4, the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. Silver Slippers in the L Frank Baum books, [ INAUDIBLE ] sequins, slippers are one of several pairs produced for the film. [ NOISE ] So, for 2 million to the Oscarless man in the front row. Speaking of Oscars, Lot 5 is from a film nominated for nine of them. Rosebud, from Citizen Kane. They didn't know what it meant in the film. But you know it's a hardwood sled. Not one of the three balsa copies they made for the burning scene. Sold. [ SOUND ] $ 233, 500. Lot 6 also comes from, An Eccentric Millionaire. [ MUSIC ] Mister Willie Wonka. The purple velvet suit and brown top hat worn by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, the good one from 1971, sold $ 73, 800. If the last lot was sweet, Lot 7 is bitter. The coveted statue from 1941s, The Maltese Falcon, not secretly jewel encrusted, but the stuff of dreams nonetheless. Sold. $ 4, 085, 000. Lot 8 is a small item, but one of the most dangerous in the galaxy. Luke Skywalker's light saber from Star Wars. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. Does not produce a laser blade, but at least you won't lose a hand. Sold. $ 240, 000. [ SOUND ]. [ MUSIC ] A galaxy far, far away was the birthplace of Lot 9's owner as well, but conveniently transported to Earth. It's not a bird, it's not a plane. It's Christopher Reeve's iconic suit from 1978 Superman movie. Sold, $ 115, 000. Lot number 10 is last but not because it's slow. James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, has all the gadgets one can need. But no cup holders. Sold. $ 4. 1 million. 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