Sophia Loren reveals the true story behind eye-popping iconic image

Iconic actress Sophia Loren is perhaps best known for her pictures "El Cid" and "Two Women," but a photo of Loren staring at blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield's chest has become famous in its own right.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in the fall of 2014, the now 81-year-old finally revealed the story behind the, um, revealing 58-year-old image.

Apparently, Paramount Pictures held a dinner party honoring the starlet back in 1957. Loren says there were cameras everywhere, a fact that Mansfield was very much aware of.

She told Entertainment Weekly, "Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I'm so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow-boom!-and spill all over the table."

While she admits the photograph is iconic, she notes that she's decided not to capitalize or glorify the image. Loren, whose memoir "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: My Life" is on bookshelves now, says fans commonly ask her to autograph the Mansfield moment, but she doesn't out of respect for the late Hollywood actress.