The legendary actress Sophia Loren has shocked her fans by announcing that she is coming out of retirement at the age of 86 to make her first movie in over a decade.

The Academy Award-winning actress is set to star in the Netflix movie The Life Ahead, and in a new interview, she explained that she decided to come out of retirement to make the film because it was directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.

“He knows me so well,” Loren told Closer Weekly. “He knows every inch of my face, my heart, my soul.”

In the movie, Loren portrays Madame Rosa, a Holocaust survivor living on the Italian coastal of Bari. There, she forms a touching friendship with Momo, a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant boy.

Edoardo admitted that it did not surprise him one bit that his mother connected with this role.

“She wants to put it all on the line to make a movie that is so deep, so challenging, both emotionally and physically,” the 47 year-old director said.

Loren is very close to her family, which consists of Edoardo and his brother, Carlo Jr. She had the two of them with her late husband Carlo Ponti, whom she was married to for 41 years until he died in 2007.

Throughout the COVID-19 quarantine, Loren has kept herself busy FaceTiming her loved ones.

“My approach to life is very simple,” she explained. “Enjoy all the good news that my children tell me about their lives. The beauty of my grandchildren fills me with joy although they are far away in California.”

One insider said that Loren, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland, is hoping to be able to visit her sons and their families in the U.S. next month. Until then, the actress is spending her time gardening, reading and taking long walks.

“[She also] has a loyal band of longtime friends that see her and take good care of her,” the source said.

This comes a year after Loren told Fox News that “life” has been inspiring her.

“I find if you don’t take the opportunity to do things at the right time, what are you waiting for?” the star said at the time. “And my family inspires me. I have two beautiful children and they gave me grandchildren. So for me, I’m always surrounded by a great, great love every day. I think every day is an opportunity for life, to do something you want to do. That inspires me… You just love yourself and you love what you do.”

Loren also said that despite her decades-long career in Hollywood, she has no intention to look back on her legacy anytime soon.

“Oh, it’s a little bit too early to think about that. To be remembered? I’m still alive,” she chuckled “I’m full of pep! I’m full of things I want to do. It’s a little bit premature to think about that. No, no, no — it’s too early.”

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

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