There is a popular statement on the Internet by an Italian movie star that she looks good thanks to this pasta. We decided to check if the actress said anything similar.

In the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, this phrase is common in several versions: “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti", "I owe everything I am to spaghetti." And "I owe everything I have to spaghetti" The formulations “I owe everything you see to spaghetti.", but this is obviously an incorrect translation, because in this case the meaning of the phrase is lost. The saying is often found on websites with collections of quotes from famous personalities. It was published by the media (for example, “Arguments and facts", "Kommersant", "Dog" And "TV program"), and also entertaining And culinary portals. Social network users also post this phrase on their pages (“VKontakte", Facebook*, Instagram*) And blogging platforms.

The Italian movie star really loves spaghetti, and not only eats it, but also cooks it. This is evidenced by photographs, in which she poses with this dish, and the number of recipes with this type of pasta that Lauren included in her cookbook "In the kitchen with love"(there are nine of them). In the book "Woman and beauty“The actress writes: “Finally, good news - eat more pasta! Both gourmets and nutritionists support me here. How do I manage to stay in shape while eating so much spaghetti? I am often asked this question while sneaking glances at my hips and waist. So, now well-known authorities have confirmed what Italian mothers have known for centuries - dough products are beneficial to the body.” However, Verified was unable to locate the widely circulated quote in either these or other books by the actress.

Apparently, Sophia Loren is right that pasta can be eaten even by those who are watching their weight. Per serving of 150 g boiled spaghetti contained 239 kcal. Research (including carried out in Italy, where pasta is a traditional part of the diet) confirmthat people can safely eat several servings of pasta per week instead of other carbohydrates. At the same time, do not forget about the sauce - it can significantly increase the calorie content of the dish. Therefore, in his book, the movie star advises: “If you pour fatty gravies and sauces on pasta, there is no hope for a positive result. Eat spaghetti with a sauce made from tomatoes and unrefined olive oil. For extra sweetness, you can add finely chopped carrots.”

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune-photo by David Seymour of Magnum Studios, New York, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Unlike the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, in the English-speaking segment there are no discrepancies in the wording of the quote; it sounds like “Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti" The earliest mention of this phrase with attribution to Sophia Loren that Verified was able to find is an article about the actress in a magazine Life dated August 11, 1961. The post says: “She eats everything in sight, washed down with red wine, and when teased about her appetite, she squints her eyes seductively, rolls her shoulders provocatively and speaks with her voice. Mae West (American actress and singer - note: “Verified”): “I owe everything you see to spaghetti.” Note that this was not an interview, but a story about the actress written by Life journalist Dora Jane Hamblin. It is not clear from the article whether Hamblin met with Lauren to write the material and whether she heard this phrase from the actress’s lips personally or was based on articles published in the media earlier, stories from the movie star’s acquaintances, or perhaps she simply assumed that Lauren could have said something similar.

After this, the phrase appeared in other articles about Lauren, for example in a newspaper article Family Weekly dated September 10, 1963, where the author writes: “... when warned about her love of spaghetti (which she likes to wash down with red wine), Sophie replied: “Don’t you know that I owe everything you see to spaghetti?” Judging by the almost exact match between the phrase about spaghetti and the mention of red wine, it can be assumed that the author of the note, Peer Oppenheimer, was inspired - consciously or not - by Hamblin's article.

In 2015, 54 years after the Life article was published, journalists from The New York Times decided to find out whether Lauren had said anything similar and asked the actress directly about it during interview on the occasion of the publication of her memoirs “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”. The movie star answered unequivocally: “Non è vero! This is not true. This is so stupid. I owe it to spaghetti - no no. This is all fiction."

So while Sophia Loren does seem to really like spaghetti, she doesn't feel like she owes it anything. “Verified” it was not possible to find any sources where the corresponding phrase would sound directly from the lips of the actress herself. Even the earliest articles that mentioned the quote in connection with Lauren were stories about her by journalists who may not have even met the movie star for an interview. But even if we assume that Lauren could still utter such a phrase in the distant 60s and then forget about it, now she clearly does not adhere to this point of view and considers this phrase stupid.

Cover photo: Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

*Russian authorities think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, is an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.