Penelope Cruz Biography - Penelope Cruz Childhood, Penelope Cruz Sanchez Profile

Name: Penelope Cruz Sánchez

Born on: 28 April, 1974

Born in: Madrid, Spain

Nationality: Spanish

Career: Dancer andActress

With her captivating beauty, unmatched talent and legion of fan followers, Penelope Cruz is an iconic name in Hollywood. A Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated Spanish actress, she has starred in a number of famous movies, including ‘All Pretty Horses’ (2000), ‘Vanilla Sky’ (2001), ‘Blow’ (2001), ‘Volver’ (2006), and ‘The Good Night’ (2007). Though she started her career as a dancer and Spanish television actor, soon the lady had her choice of popular movie pickings in English, French, Italian and Portuguese languages. Moreover, when she won the ‘Goya Award’ (Best Actress) in 1998, for the much-acclaimed Spanish drama ‘La nina de tus ojos’ (The Girl of Your Dreams), she became the ultimate reigning queen in the world of cinema.

Childhood & Early Life

Penelope Cruz was born as ‘Penélope Cruz Sánchez’ on 28^th April 1974, at San Sebastián de los Reyes, in the capital city of Madrid (Spain). She is the daughter of Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. She has a younger brother named Eduardo, who is a singer, and a younger sister (Mónica Cruz), a popular Spanish dancer and actress. Penelope is herself trained in classical ballet from Spain's National Conservatory, where she studied for nine years. She has also received Spanish Ballet training with Ángela Garrido and jazz dance training with Raúl Caballero. Penelope was a student of Cristina Rota School in Madrid.

Film Career

Cruz first rose to distinction with ‘La fuerza del destino’, a video clip for the Spanish synthpop group ‘Mecano’. During this time, she appeared in TV shows like ‘La Quinta Marcha’ and ‘Série Rose’. In 1992, she starred in two movies, namely ‘Jamón, Jamón’ and ‘Belle Époque’, the latter bragging an Academy Award. In 1997, she paired alongside Eduardo Noriega in ‘Abre los ojos’ (Open Your Eyes), and in 1999, she was part of the Academy Award-winning movie ‘Todo sobre mi madre’ (All About My Mother). In the year 2000, Cruz appeared with Matt Damon in the movie ‘All the Pretty Horses’, which won her a nomination for ‘Blockbuster Entertainment Award’ (Best Actress).

Cruz also appeared in the film ‘Vanilla Sky’ (2001), which is the Hollywood remake of ‘Abre los ojos’. In 2006, she starred in the Western comedy ‘Bandidas’, working alongside best friend, Salma Hayek, and the same year she also earned rave reviews for her role as ‘Raimunder’ in the movie ‘Volver’ (Academy Award-nomination). Apart from the nomination, Cruz won a Best Actress ensemble award at the Cannes Film Festival and has been nominated for other prestigious awards like the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award. In fact, she is the first Spanish Actress to gain a nomination for an Academy Award in the Best Actress Category.

Personal Life

Apart from being a celebrated Hollywood icon, Penelope is a humanitarian, known for her charitable works. In 1997, she underlined her altruism, when she volunteered in Uganda for a period of two months. She is a polyglot, who can speak four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Penelope’s personal life got hyped media coverage when she courted her ‘Vanilla Sky’ co-star Tom Cruise for three years. However, they broke off in January 2004 and Cruz began dating actor Matthew McConaughey. This relationship saw the same fate and the couple separated in 2006. Presently, she is involved with the famous Spanish actor Javier Bardem.

Filmography

1992 - Jamón, jamón

1992 - Belle Époque

1997 - El amor perjudica seriamente la salud (Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health)

1997 - Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes)

1997 - Carne trémula (Live Flesh)

1998 - La niña de tus ojos (The Girl of Your Dreams)

1998 - Don Juan

1999 - Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother)

2000 - All the Pretty Horses

2000 - Woman on Top

2001 - Blow