Sophia Loren's mother had the makings of a Hollywood starlet. An aspiring actress, Romilda Villani began her career by winning a Greta Garbo lookalike contest hosted by MGM studios in Italy.
The grand prize may have been a trip to America, but unfortunately for Romilda, her parents wouldn't let her go. "Nothing happened to her," Sophia recalled to The Independent. "She was always very lonely. She was strong but not really. She meant to be, but she was not as strong as she wanted to show – to other people or to herself."
© GettyFollowing her brush with Hollywood, Romilda eventually met Riccardo Scicolone Murillo, and welcomed her daughters Sophia (born in 1934) and Maria (born in 1938) out of wedlock. When Riccardo refused to marry her and left their family, Romilda became a single mother and raised her daughters in the Neapolitan city of Pozzuoli, while navigating the many challenges presented by World War Two.
In an interview with Variety, Sophia recalled how her mother was often judged by their neighbours as an unmarried woman, but kept her head held high. "My mother taught us to be strong, to be proud, to rise up from this prejudice and to build an identity not shaped by the approval of others but from our own sense of dignity, purpose and self-esteem. It wasn't easy," explained Sophia.
© GettyRomilda may have known adversity, but she always "oozed allure" and served as a major source of support to both of her daughters. "We are very, very close, my mother, my sister and I, and she really helped me a great deal in the beginning of my career because she was always beside me and trying to give me advice," the A-lister said on The Dick Cavett Show in 1979.
After Sophia established herself as an international star, it was Romilda who taught her to walk the red carpet. "She was the one who wore high heels, walked with her back straight, head upright," the 90-year-old revealed to PEOPLE in 2009. "She used to say, 'I'm the real Sophia Loren!'"
© GettyA constant companion to her daughter, Romilda would often visit Sophia on film sets and at at high-profile events, including the Christian Dior fur fashion show in Paris, 1974.
For Sophia, who sadly lost her mother in 1991, Romilda will always be remembered as a "beautiful woman" who had a huge impact on her life.
After her passing, the Houseboat star declared: "She was Sophia Loren, my mother. As a matter of fact, when she died, a great part of me died with her, because she made me feel strong. When your mother dies, something important goes away and you can never replace it."
Sophia, who has portrayed her mother in two different dramatisations of her own life, felt connected to Romilda while acting in the Italian drama film, The Life Ahead (2020).
© SOPA ImagesCast as Madame Rosa, the filmstar noted several similarities between her character and her late mother. "Just like Madame Rosa, my mother had this combination of resilience and fragility, of moments of high drama but always seen through the lens of irony," Sophie recalled in Big Issue.
"She was also rather tough and irreverent on the outside, but quite a softy in the inside. I miss her every day."
