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Penélope Cruz Sánchez (pronounced [pe̞ˈne̞ˑlo̞pe̞ ˈkɾuθ̟ ˈs̺änʲʨe̞θ̟]; born April 28, 1974), better known as Penélope Cruz, is a Spanish actress. She gathered critical acclaim as a young actress for films such as Jamón, jamón, La Niña de tus ojos and Belle époque. She has also starred in several American films such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Bandidas.
| Profile | |
| Born | Penelope Cruz Sánchez April 28, 1974 (1974-04-28) (age 34) Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Awards won | |
| Goya Awards | |
| #1 | Best Actress 1998 La niña de tus ojos 2006 Volver |
| Other awards | |
| #2 | Best Actress Award - Cannes Film Festival 2006 (with all the female cast) Volver |
Cruz was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic. Her younger sister is Spanish dancer Mónica Cruz. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement. Initially, Cruz decided to focus her energies on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine Read more...
Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the Lucio Villalba-directed video clip La fuerza del destino for the Spanish synthpop group Mecano. She later started a relationship with Nacho Cano, a member of the group. A TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha, she also had early exposure in Série Rose, a French erotic TV serial. In one episode she played the role of a blind Read more...
Cruz has a younger brother, Eduardo, a singer, and a younger sister, Mónica, who closely resembles her: a similarity exploited for some Spanish TV ads. In the 2000s, Mónica left her dancing career and achieved note on her own in the youth-oriented TV series Un Paso Adelante.
Cruz claims to be a vegetarian since 2000, though this fact is disputed. She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, Read more...