Sophia Loren still feels like she's 20.
Sophia Loren
The 86-year-old actress has insisted she won't allow her real-life age to determine how she feels about herself.
Sophia - who rose to global stardom during Hollywood's golden age - explained: "Sometimes when I say I’m 86, I don’t believe it. I feel 20."
The movie star looks at her life as a "dream", and has revealed some of the things she's learned during her time in the film business.
She told AARP the Magazine: "When I look in the mirror, I cheer for myself. I don’t ask, ‘Are you great?’ or ‘Are you beautiful?’ No! It’s how I feel inside, how secure I am, how happy I am. That’s what matters."
The Oscar-winning star also thinks her happiness is linked to "ageing naturally", rather than resorting to surgery.
She said: "Why change your body and be somebody else if you are happy inside? I never thought of that - never. I like what I have. I like me!"
Earlier this year, meanwhile, Sophia admitted her mother always doubted she'd become a successful film star.
The actress was born in Rome and defied her mother's expectations by becoming one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses.
She shared: "She was against new things. She thought I would never be successful, and that was wrong, she was wrong. Later she started to believe that I could maybe be somebody. But it was always a big maybe.
"To her, the life that I wanted, it was all a dream. And she didn’t believe in dreams."
Sophia thinks she was afraid of how she'd cope with the pressures of fame.
The actress said: "I think maybe she was afraid I would get into a world where I didn’t belong. And in a way she was right."
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