Julie Bishop may possess the terrifying "death stare" but before the Foreign Minister was appearing on talk shows dishing that out, there was Sophia Loren, the actor famous for her advocacy of carbohydrates and her cutting "side-eye" glance.
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First lady Michelle Obama is the modern-day custodian of Loren's famous look that is so cold it could freeze time.
Remember that infamous selfie Obama took with the Danish prime minister and the internet's reaction to Michelle's sideways reaction? Or that time she threw similar shade at the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, during a lunch in Washington. Former first lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and wife of then UK prime minister Gordon Brown, Sarah, also copped her side-eye during the memorial ceremony for the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy.
Locally, we even caught a glimpse of it this week when Geoffrey Edelsten got down on bended knee in front of the media to propose to Gabi Grecko, with a ring she didn't vet and approve.
However, the history of the side-eye began in 1957 when Loren was captured on camera serving it up to actor Jayne Mansfield at a glitzy dinner in Beverly Hills. The black-tie event was reportedly thrown to officially welcome Loren to Hollywood after she became the most photographed performer at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.
Loren, now 80 and with more than 90 film credits to her name, has spoken about the famous image for the first time, ending speculation there was bad blood between the two, suggesting she was more concerned for Mansfield's unruly cleavage.
"Paramount had organised a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing," the Italian actress told Entertainment Weekly.
"[Mansfield] came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely... Listen, 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."
Despite the popularity of the image, Loren refuses to celebrate the shot, which shows her shooting daggers at a smiling Mansfield (and her D-cups) across the dinner table.
"Many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don't want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she's not with us any more," she said.
