Sophia Is 65!

International film star and beauty Sophia Loren turned 65 on Monday. Loren has become a living symbol of Italian culture, outliving many of Italy's post-war film personalities, such as directors Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica and actor Marcello Mastroianni, her leading man in many movies.

"Being a diva is a job like any other," she told the newspaper La Repubblica in a front-page story. "When you go home it's like leaving it (the job) at the office."

Italian radio stations gave her birthday as much airtime as the arrival of Australian peace forces arriving in East Timor a world away. She is one of the few people in Italy universally known by her first name. When someone on television refers to "Sophia" it can only mean "La Loren."

All that fame is not an unmitigated pleasure. Loren is currently suing 76 companies, accusing them of using her name to lure people to Internet porn sites. She is, she says, "horrified by the disgusting actions" of these companies.

The film legend, who won an Oscar in 1961 for her performance in Two Women, divides her time nowadays between Switzerland and California. She told La Repubblica she enjoys the routine of family life -- such as cooking for her husband, producer Carlo Ponti, and their grown sons Carlo Jr. and Edoardo. Loren shows no signs of retiring, although when she is offered a project these days, she carefully weighs the time it would take away from her family and personal responsibilities.