Background

Penélope Cruz was born on April 28, 1974, in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, into the family of Encarna Sánchez, an Andalusian hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, an Extremaduran retailer and car mechanic. Encarna and Eduardo divorced in 1999.

Penélope has two siblings - Mónica, also an actress, and Eduardo, a singer. She also has a paternal half-sister, Salma.

Education

In her early years, Cruz studied classical ballet at Spain's National Conservatory for nine years. She also attended Cristina Rota's school, where she took three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theatre.

Career

Cruz's career can be counted from 1989, when, at the age of 15, she won a modeling agency competition and began appearing in music videos and on Spanish television. Her first film roles were in El laberinto griego ("The Greek Labyrinth"; although the film was completed in 1991, its release was delayed until 1993) and Jamón, jamón (1992; "Ham, Ham"). She came to international attention with Belle Epoque (1992; "The Age of Beauty"), a film about an army deserter taken in by an elderly man and his four enchanting daughters. It won an Academy Award for best foreign film. On numerous occasions Cruz worked with the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, initially appearing in his Carne trémula (1997; Live Flesh) and Todo sobre mi madre (1999; All About My Mother).

Cruz’s first English-language role came in Talk of Angels (1998), which was completed in 1994 but not released for several years. She then appeared in the contemporary western The Hi-Lo Country (1998). Cruz quickly established herself as a prominent actress in Hollywood. She appeared in the romantic comedy Woman on Top (2000) and starred alongside Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses (2000), a film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name. She starred opposite Johnny Depp in Blow (2001), a film based on the life of George Jung, the most prolific cocaine dealer in the United States during the 1970s. In 2001, Cruz also appeared in Vanilla Sky - a remake of a successful film in which she had earlier starred, Abre los ojos (1997; Open Your Eyes).

In the early 21st century, Cruz continued to act in both English- and Spanish-language productions. She starred in Head in the Clouds (2004) and later appeared as an unhappily married mother in Almodóvar's critically acclaimed Volver (2006; To Return), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Cruz played a woman dreamed of by a man undergoing a midlife crisis in The Good Night (2007) and appeared as the young lover of an aging college professor in Elegy (2008), a film adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Dying Animal (2001). She then won her first Oscar - for best supporting actress, for her work in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), in which she starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem.

In 2009, Cruz appeared in Almodóvar's Los abrazos rotos (2009; Broken Embraces), provided the voice of a guinea pig in the animated G-Force (2009), and starred in Nine, a musical set in the 1960s that focused on the life of a film director (played by Daniel Day-Lewis). She reteamed with Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), in which she portrayed the strong-willed daughter of the pirate Blackbeard. Cruz then collaborated again with Allen, portraying an Italian prostitute in his ensemble comedy To Rome with Love (2012). In the crime drama The Counselor (2013), she was cast as the girlfriend of a lawyer who becomes involved in a drug deal that goes wrong. The Spanish-language melodrama Ma ma (2015), which Cruz coproduced, featured her as a mother diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her comedic skills were on display in Ben Stiller's fashion-industry satire Zoolander 2 (2016).

In 2017, Cruz was part of the star-studded cast of Murder on the Orient Express, based on Agatha Christie's 1933 novel of the same name. She then took to the small screen to play Donatella Versace in the TV series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). Cruz also costarred with Bardem in both Loving Pablo (2017), about the relationship between Pablo Escobar and journalist Virginia Vallejo, and Asghar Farhadi's family drama Todos lo saben (2018; Everybody Knows). She then reteamed with Almodóvar in Dolor y gloria (2019; Pain and Glory), about a director contemplating his life. In Wasp Network (2019), Cruz played the unsuspecting wife of a Cuban pilot secretly working against Cuba's government.

In May 2018, it was announced that Cruz joined The 355, a female-led spy film by Simon Kinberg alongside Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyongo, and Fan Bingbing. In 2019, Diane Kruger, Édgar Ramírez, Sebastian Stan, and Emilio Insolera joined the cast of the film. The film is set to be released by Universal Pictures in 2022.

It's also worth mentioning, that, during her career, Cruz has modelled for Mango, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, and L'Oréal. In addition, together with her younger sister Mónica Cruz, she has designed clothing for Mango.

Achievements

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  Penélope Cruz is a famous Spanish actress and model, best known for her roles in films, such as Vanilla Sky, Blow, Nine and her Oscar-winning performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
  
  During her career, the actress has attained numerous prestigious awards, including the Academy Award, the BAFTA Film Award, the ALMA Award, the Bambi Award, the Honorary César Award, among others. It's also worth mentioning, that, as of 2021, Cruz was nominated two times for the Academy Award, one time for the BAFTA Film Award, four times for the Golden Globe Award, one time for the Primetime Emmy Award, among many other nominations.
  
  Penélope Cruz received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 1, 2011.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Fanfan la Tulipe

    (In this 2003 remake of the classic 1952 French film, Fanf...)

    2003
  • Sahara

    (Master explorer Dirk Pitt goes on the adventure of a life...)

    2005
  • Nine

    (Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harm...)

    2009
  • Vicky Cristina Barcelona

    (Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored ...)

    2008
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

    (Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the e...)

    2011
  • Gothika

    (A depressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in ...)

    2003
  • Belle Époque

    (A 1931 Spanish military deserter finds himself on a lonel...)

    1992
  • Vanilla Sky

    (A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his pr...)

    2001
  • Murder on the Orient Express

    (When a murder occurs on the train on which he's travellin...)

    2017
  • Zoolander 2

    (Derek and Hansel are lured into modelling again, in Rome,...)

    2016
  • Volver

    (After her death, a mother returns to her home town in ord...)

    2006
  • The Girl of Your Dreams

    (A company of Spanish movie makers leaves Franco's Spain a...)

    1998
  • The Counselor

    (A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets invo...)

    2013
  • The Hi-Lo Country

    (Two cowboys have their friendship tested when they fall f...)

    1998
  • Noel

    (Five New Yorkers come together on Christmas Eve, seeking ...)

    2004

Religion

Cruz was raised as a Roman Catholic. However, she feels close to Buddhism now. The actress once said: "I was raised as a Catholic, but I believe in God in my own way and I pray in my own way and I respect all kinds of philosophies. The one philosophy or religion that I find I am most close to is the Buddhist one. I think it is the one that respects the others and the one that doesn't say that this is the only way."

Politics

Cruz appears to be just as liberal in her politics as she is in her religious beliefs. Although she doesn't talk about politics much, the actress weighed in on Barack Obama when he was running for his first term in office.

In her deep concern for the economic problems in Spain, Cruz encouraged filmmakers to choose the country as the location for films.

Views

Cruz is an advocate of breastfeeding.

Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working with Mother Teresa. The actress donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission. It's also worth noting, that the experience of volunteering in Uganda and India inspired Cruz to contribute to a foundation to support homeless girls in India.

In the early 2000s, the actress spent time in Nepal photographing Tibetan children for an exhibition attended by the Dalai Lama. She also photographed residents at the Pacific Lodge Boys' Home, most of whom are former gang members and recovering substance abusers.

Penélope has supported the battle against AIDS and PETA's anti-fur campaign.

Quotations: "You cannot live your life looking at yourself from someone else's point of view."

"My definition of beauty is without rules. It can be the face of a beautiful 90-year-old woman that is full of stories and emotion. Beauty is what somebody's eyes communicate."

"I think magic is very related to happiness. So it is not there all the time, but there are beautiful moments of magic in everyone's life."

"My ambition is to be happy."

"One thing that I am proud of: I am really capable of laughing at myself."

Personality

Meryl Streep is Cruz's role-model.

The actress likes to keep stray cats.

Interests

• Photography, Indian cinema, ballet

• Politicians

  Barack Obama

• Writers

  Philip Roth, Gabriel García Márquez

• Music & Bands

  U2

Connections

In the early 2000s, Cruz had a romantic relationship with Tom Cruise. The couple separated in January 2004.

In 2007, Penélope began dating Javier Bardem. They married in July 2010. The couple has two children - a son, named Leo Encinas Cruz, and a daughter, Luna Encinas Cruz.

Father:

Eduardo Cruz

(born October 13, 1952 - died June 18, 2015)

Mother:

Encarna Sánchez

best friend:

Salma Hayek

(born September 2, 1966)

Salma Hayek is a Mexican and American film actress and producer.

Sister:

Mónica Cruz

(born March 16, 1977)

Mónica Cruz is a Spanish actress, dancer, and fashion designer.

Brother:

Eduardo Cruz

(born February 27, 1985)

Eduardo Cruz is a singer, compositor and producer.

ex-boyfriend:

Tom Cruise

(born July 3, 1962)

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, best known as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. He is the star of several box-office hits, including "Risky Business", "A Few Good Men", "The Firm", "Jerry Maguire" and the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. Tom was honored with three Golden Globe Awards and three nominations for Academy Awards.

It's also worth noting, that Cruise is one of the highest-grossing box office stars of all time.

husband:

Javier Bardem

(born March 1, 1969)

Javier Bardem is a Spanish actor.

Son:

Leo Encinas Cruz

(born January 2011)

Daughter:

Luna Encinas Cruz

(born July 2013)

best friend:

Goya Toledo

(born September 24, 1969)

Gregoria Micaela Toledo Machín, professionally known as Goya Toledo, is a Spanish actress and model.

References

• Penélope Cruz Focusing on Cruz's key films and their surrounding discourse, Ann Davies charts the development of Cruz's star persona both at home and abroad and the questions, difficulties and pleasures it inspires.
  2014
• Penélope Cruz's Instagram