Sophia Loren’s Ageless Philosophy: At 90, She Still Lives by “No Plan B”

Sophia Loren has walked red car­pets for more than sev­en decades, yet her pres­ence nev­er los­es its mag­ic. Now 90 years old, the leg­endary actress shows no signs of slow­ing down — in her work or her approach to life.

Her atti­tude toward aging is refresh­ing­ly sim­ple. When she was asked in 2019 about the “secret” behind her youth­ful looks, she told HELLO!:

“There is no secret. This is the face I was born with. I like to keep myself as I was born — no secrets oth­er­wise.”

It’s a mes­sage she has repeat­ed through­out her life, echo­ing one of her most icon­ic lines:

“Beau­ty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not some­thing phys­i­cal.”

She Feels Far Younger Than Her Age

Speak­ing to AARP Mag­a­zine in 2020, Sophia admit­ted some­thing many fans relate to:

“Some­times, when I say I’m 86, I don’t believe it. I feel 20.”

When she looks in the mir­ror, she doesn’t search for per­fec­tion. Instead, she cheers for her­self:

“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.”

Sophia’s Personal Beauty Rituals

Sophia’s beau­ty rou­tine is famous­ly clas­sic — no trends, no gim­micks, just tra­di­tion.

Her per­son­al go-tos include:

• Olive oil: eat­en dai­ly and occa­sion­al­ly used as a face mois­tur­iz­er
• Fresh mint leaves: placed under the eyes to reduce puffi­ness
• Plen­ty of water: her must-have for hydra­tion

And in the most Ital­ian way pos­si­ble, she proud­ly insists she still eats pas­ta — with­out guilt, with­out restric­tion.

A Lifetime of Films — and Still Going

Sophia’s sto­ried career spans clas­sics such as:

• The Life Ahead
• The Mil­lion­airess
• Yes­ter­day, Today and Tomor­row
• Mar­riage Ital­ian Style
• Nine
• It Start­ed in Naples

In recent years, she has worked close­ly with her son Edoar­do Pon­ti, col­lab­o­rat­ing on The Life Ahead, Voce Umana (Human Voice), and Between Strangers.
Her eldest son, Car­lo Pon­ti Jr., is now one of America’s most respect­ed con­duc­tors.

When asked by HELLO! about her great­est achieve­ments, she didn’t hes­i­tate:

“When I receive prizes for my films, it is nice. But when peo­ple con­grat­u­late me on my fam­i­ly — they say I have beau­ti­ful chil­dren. I am very proud.”

Why She Never Plans to Retire

Even at 90, Loren’s focus remains for­ward. In 2024, she told Dead­line:

“I don’t want to think about lega­cy. I want to think about my next movie. I’ll think of lega­cy once I retire — and I hope nev­er to retire.”

Her secret to life­long suc­cess?
A mind­set as bold as her career:

“No plan Bs, only a plan A.”

She explained that hav­ing no back­up plan forces you to push through obsta­cles instead of giv­ing up. It’s a phi­los­o­phy that has defined her entire life.