Sophia Loren Has ‘Checked Off Everything on Her Bucket List’ Before Celebrating 90th Birthday

Sophia Loren admits she’s done a lot with her 90 years, but she hasn’t achieved absolutely everything she ever wanted. “I’ve been trying to have a British accent all my life,” jokes the Italian-born international star, who will be celebrating her birthday with a select group of family and friends on September 20.

British accent aside, Sophia has lived a life way beyond the dreams she harbored as a child growing up in Naples during World War II. “I really experienced the war,” she says. “Bombing everywhere and killing everybody. It was really awful. And no money. No food.” But Sophia had hope and determination. As a teenager, she began entering beauty pageants. By 20, she’d scored her breakthrough role in 1954’s The Gold of Naples. She arrived in Hollywood four years later unable to speak a word of English. “I was completely lost. But I was willing to learn,” she says. By the time she won her Oscar for 1960’s Two Women, she was an international star. “Sophia has checked off everything on her bucket list,” a friend of the actress exclusively tells Closer. “She’s had a full life and wouldn’t change a thing.”

Sophia takes equal pride in her 41 years of marriage to the late Carlo Ponti and her two sons. “I have children. I have grandchildren,” she says. “I think I’ve reached a peaceful life. I have everything I ever wanted.”

Following the death of Carlo in 2007, Sophia settled full-time in Geneva, Switzerland, in a lush apartment she’s owned for more than 50 years. “My sons, Carlo and Edoardo, were both born there,” says Sophia of the property located in the city’s Old Town neighborhood.

After a lifetime of traveling around the world, she feels fortunate to be home among her framed family photos and memories. “At this stage of her life, Sophia’s passions are spending time with her grandchildren, sitting in her garden, watching some of her favorite shows or classic films,” says the friend. “She wants to be comfortable, have good conversations with friends and eat good meals.”

Sophia Loren Recently Faced Health Challenges

The past year has not been easy. Last November, Sophia fell in the bathroom and fractured multiple bones, including her hip and femur. The injuries required surgery and months of rehabilitation. “She’s still not 100 percent,” concedes the friend. “So walking is an issue at times, and she is afraid of falling again.” But Sophia’s mind is “all there,” adds the friend. “She’s a little more forgetful than she was in the past, but she laughs it off and jokes that she was always forgetful.”

The vibrant spirit that propelled her out of the slums and onto the world stage remains intact, too. “When I look in the mirror, I cheer for myself,” Sophia says. “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.”