Born in Magenta, Lombardy, Italy; educated at the University of Milan (law). Worked for Lux Films in Rome from 1945 to 1949, where he oversaw several features by directors including Mario Camerini and Alberto Lattuada. In 1950 Ponti began a successful partnership with Dino De Laurentiis, producing a number of noted films such as Federico Fellini's LA STRADA (1954). He then branched out on his own in the mid-1950s, scoring critical and popular success with international productions by directors such as Vittorio De Sica, Jean-Luc Godard and David Lean. Between 1944 and 1998, he produced over 150 (mostly Italian) films and television programs. Some of his notable producing credits include LA LUPA / THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1953), LA STRADA and ATTILA (both 1954), WAR AND PEACE (1956), HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS and LA CIOCIARA / TWO WOMEN (both 1960), CLÉO DE 5 À 7 (1961), BOCCACCIO '70 (1962), IERI, OGGI, DOMANI / YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (1963), MATRIMONIA ALL'ITALIANA / MARRIAGE ITALIAN-STYLE (1964), CASSANOVA '70 and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (both 1965), BLOWUP (1966), ZABRISKIE POINT and I GIRASOLI / SUNFLOWER (both 1970), VERDICT (1974), THE CASSANDRA CROSSING (1976), and LIV (1998). Ponti's 1957 marriage to Sophia Loren sparked off a string of Italian legal complications (a previous divorce was still being contested) which resulted in that marriage being annulled in 1962. Ponti took French citizenship in 1964. He and Loren remarried in 1966 and remained together until his death in 2007. In 1979 he was sentenced, in absentia, to a jail term and a multi-million dollar fine, for charges involving the smuggling of currency and art.  Nominated for Best Picture 1965: DOCTOR ZHIVAGO - Producer at Ponti. 1 nomination