Sophia Loren is still scarred by the time she spent in prison for tax evasion.
Sophia Loren spent 17 days in jail
The 88-year-old Italian cinema icon did 17 days of a 30-day sentence at a prison near Naples in 1982 – but was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing after a decades-long fight over the case that only ended in 2013.
She told America's Closer magazine: “It’s an experience that I will never forget.
“I had to be among all these girls that had committed crimes. Forty years later, I won the trial – I had paid every penny!”
The 'Two Women' actress claimed at the time she was jailed the person who prepared her taxes had made a mistake, and she fought for years to be exonerated after her release from jail.
The Rome-based Court of Cassation eventually ruled in 2013 Sophia was right when she calculated tax on her 1974 income.
Under Italian tax law when her filling was made, her advisers calculated she owed tax on 60 per cent of her income – but tax officials said it should have been 70 per cent, leading to her being imprisoned.
The 'Sunflower' star added her long career has led her not to take anything in her life “for granted”.
She said about her decades on the silver screen: “It has enabled me to be happy each and every day for all the wonderful things I’ve been able to do.
“And to measure the great distance I’ve come.”
And the 'Life Ahead' actress - who has sons Carlo Jr., 55, and Edoardo, 50, with late husband Carlo Ponti - insisted she will "never" retire.
She said : “I love cinema so much. I intened to make movies forever.”
Meanwhile, Sophia doesn't pay too much attention to her diet but always finds time to exercise.
She said: “I never count calories. I like to eat simple things, like eggplant parmesan, like ragout… I suppose I like things that are not light.
“I exercise every day for about 20 minutes.”
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