‘She decided I wasn’t good enough to be interviewing her’: Lisa Wilkinson recalls her most ‘tragic’ interview with an iconic actress from the Golden Age
As one of Australia’s leading television personalities, she’s met a slew of A-list stars.
And speaking to News.com.au on Friday, Lisa Wilkinson revealed her most ‘tragic’ interview to date.
The 60-year-old was ‘least impressed’ by Italian actress and star of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Sophia Loren, 85, during her time as co-host of Channel Nine’s Today.
‘She decided I wasn’t good enough to be interviewing her’: Lisa Wilkinson, 60, (pictured) revealed her most ‘tragic’ interview to date, with an actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood, when speaking to News.com.au on Friday. Pictured on The Project
‘Talk about a person not wanting to be in the room. I should have taken the hint when she turned up an hour and a half late!’ Lisa told the publication.
‘I thought, naively, that I’d be able to warm her up because I was so excited about interviewing this icon of the movie industry, but she didn’t want to be there and tragically I did, so I think the results were quite sad.’
Lisa went on to suggest that Sophia, real name Sofia Villani Scicolone, ‘decided very early on’ that she ‘was not good enough to be interviewing her’.
Not interested: ‘Talk about a person not wanting to be in the room. I should have taken the hint when she turned up an hour and a half late!’ Lisa said of Italian actress Sophia Loren, 85, who is pictured in October
Sophia is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and is known for films including Two Women, Marriage Italian Style, and Houseboat.
Meanwhile, Lisa sat alongside Karl Stefanovic on Today for 10 years, before leaving Nine in October 2017 over a reported gender pay gap dispute.
The former magazine editor was believed to have quit because Karl, as her male co-host, was reportedly earning $2million a year with a potential bonus that could take his salary to $3million if ratings were a hit, The Australian wrote in 2017.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Lisa was said to be on a $1.1million a year contract, with Nine only willing to increase the amount to $1.8million.
Iconic actress: Sophia, who is known for films including Two Women and Houseboat, was interviewed by Lisa during her time as co-host of Channel Nine’s Today. Pictured in June, 1950
Decade-long run: Meanwhile, Lisa sat alongside Karl Stefanovic (pictured) on Today for 10 years, before leaving Nine in October 2017 over a reported gender pay gap dispute
The amount was not enough for her to stay with the network, prompting her departure.
Since joining The Sunday Project in 2018, Lisa has landed sit-down interviews with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kylie Minogue and Bradley Cooper.
In an interview with The Herald Sun in December 2018, Lisa applauded the ‘integrity’ and high ‘calibre’ of her colleagues at Ten, referencing Carrie Bickmore, Fifi Box, Amanda Keller, Julia Morris and Gorgi Coghlan.
‘One of the absolute bonuses that I really hadn’t anticipated in moving to Ten, is the calibre of my colleagues,’ she said.
New chapter: Since joining The Sunday Project in 2018, Lisa has landed sit-down interviews with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kylie Minogue and Bradley Cooper