Maria Scicolone: Who is Sophia Loren's sister?

Maria Scicolone is an Italian television personality, columnist, and singer. She is the sister of iconic Hollywood actress Sophia Loren and the mother of Italian politician Alessandra Mussolini. Maria Scicolone’s sister has built a formidable acting career rising above her poverty-stricken origins in postwar Naples to become universally recognized as one of Italy’s most recognizable movie stars. With numerous accolades to her name, the American Film Institute named her one of the greatest stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, and she is one of the era’s last surviving major stars as of 2023.

Maria Scicolone: Bio Summary

How old is Sophia Loren’s sister?

Maria Scicolone was born on  May 11, 1938, in Rome, Italy. She is the daughter of Romilda Villani and Riccardo Scicolone. Her father Riccardo was a failed engineer who worked temporarily for the national railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and her mother Romilda, was a piano teacher and aspiring actress. Maria Scicolone is the second born of the family, following her famous sister closely.

According to Loren, their father Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother, Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children. Maria had half brothers- Alessandra Mussolini and Elisabetta Mussolini- from her father’s marriage. Because her parents were not married, this left their mother Romild Villani without financial support to raise the two girls.

According to sources, their father did not want to formally recognize Maria as his daughter. However, in a report sported on Forioscribe when the Two Women actress accumulated enough wealth from starring in movies, she took the bold step of approaching her biological father, Riccardo Scicolone, and decided to pay him a large sum of money to formally recognize her younger sister Maria, also his daughter.

ALSO, READ; Riccardo Scicolone: How did Sophia Loren’s father die?

The outlet revealed, Sophia Loren insisted he did this because she couldn’t stand her younger sister being bullied by schoolmates as being born out of wedlock. Maria Scicolone attended junior high school under the name of Maria Villani as not recognized by her father according to Wikitree.

Maria Scicolone was forced by her mother Romilda to interrupt her studies because it was not considered “convenient” and follow her to Rome although she wished to finish her studies. However, she later went back to finish her studies and obtained a degree in literature in 1976.

Maria Scicolone was a singer

Sophia Loren’s sister Maria who was also interested in art frequently accompanied her sister famous Sofia on set around the world. Though she had a passion for singing, her mother’s intentions for her were different from those she had for her other daughter Sophia.

She later became a writer, known for My House Is Full of Mirrors (2010), Sophia: Ieri, oggi, domani (2007), and V.I.P.-Schaukel (1971) per IMDb. According to Alchetron, she made her acting debut when she played herself in the 2007 documentary Sophia: Ieri, oggi, domani and authored the 2010 autobiographical TV movie My House Is Full of Mirrors, in which she and her famous sister starred.

Aside from her being a talented singer, Sophia Loren’s sister Maria Scicolone is well-known for being a chef and cookbook author. She frequently appears as a commentator on television shows. She was close to her mother Romilda until her death from cancer in 1991.

ALSO, READ; Romilda Villani: What happened to Sophia Loren’s mother?

Maria Scicolone married Italian jazz pianist, Romano Mussolini

Maria met jazz pianist Romano Mussolini, the fourth son of Benito Mussolini and Rachele Guidi in Rome. The couple bonded, started dating, and eventually got married in 1962 in Predappio with great interest of the press. Their marriage was blessed with two daughters: Alessandra in 1962 who currently serves as a Member of the European Parliament for Forza Italia, and Elisabetta Mussolini in 1967.

Though Maria Scicolone and Romano Mussolini promised each other forever, things didn’t go as planned due to the often extra-marital relations of Romano Mussolini: the two separated in 1971 obtaining the final divorce in 1976. Romano Mussolini died in 2006, aged 78, in a hospital in Rome from heart problems. She attended the funeral accompanied by her two daughters.

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