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Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz in 2006
Born	Penélope Cruz Sánchez April 28, 1974 (1974-04-28) (age 34) Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Actress
Awards won Goya Awards Best Actress 1998 La niña de tus ojos 2006 Volver Other awards Best Actress Award - Cannes Film Festival 2006 (with all the female cast) Volver

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.

Cruz has been awarded two Goyas, two European Film Awards and the Coppa Volpi for her work. She is the first Spanish actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Pedro Almodóvar's 2006 Spanish film Volver.

Biography

Early life

Cruz was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic.¹ .² As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement. Initially, Cruz decided to focus on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. She received three years of Spanish Ballet training with Ángela Garrido. She also had jazz dance training with Raúl Caballero and studied at Cristina Rota (mother of Juan Diego Botto) school in Madrid. At 15, however, she followed another calling after beating more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition.

Career

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.³ A TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha,² she also had early exposure in Série Rose, a French erotic TV serial.⁴ In one episode she played the role of a blind prostitute and in another played a young noble woman pretending to be a young nobleman in a comedy of errors. She also directed Nacho Cano's video of "El waltz de los locos", in 1994.

Cruz's first major films were Jamón, jamón and Belle Époque, a film which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 1997, she starred as Sofía Pangia, alongside Eduardo Noriega in Abre los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, while in 1999 she appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother), which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 2000 she appeared with Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses.

For Cruz, the early 2000's were a period of mediocre reviews and mixed commercial success. In late 2001, she appeared in the film Vanilla Sky, the Hollywood remake of Abre los ojos. Cruz co-starred with her best friend, Salma Hayek in the 2006 film, Bandidas.⁵ In 2006, Cruz received highly favourable reviews for her performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. She won a Best Actress ensemble award at the Cannes Film Festival and has been nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Award. She is the first Spanish Actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.⁶

In May 2007, it was announced that Penelope and her sister Mónica would be designing a 25-piece collection for the Barcelona-based fashion chain, Mango.⁷ On July 7, 2007, Cruz presented at Live Earth. In late 2007, she starred in the Jaume de Laiguana-directed video for her brother's first single, named "Cosas que contar", along with her friend Mía Maestro and her sister Mónica. Cruz had previously shown a keen interest in fashion and is a model for L'Oreal and its "Telescopic" mascara. In July 2007, the British Advertising Standards Authority rapped L'Oréal for a television advert on its “Telescopic” mascara, featuring Penélope Cruz, for failing to state that the model was wearing false eyelashes.⁸

In 2008, she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as María Elena, Javier Bardem's mentally-unstable ex-wife. Her performance has received much praise, and is widely tipped to earn her her second Academy Award nomination.⁹

Personal life

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.¹⁰ She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Cruz has also donated a considerable amount of money and time to charity. In 1997 she volunteered in Uganda for two months.

After appearing in the 2001 film Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise, they had a three-year relationship which ended in January 2004. After filming Sahara in February 2005, she began dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In May 2006, they released a joint statement to People, saying that they "have decided to take time off as a couple." Later that year they announced that they were "no longer intimate and separating was the best thing to do at this time".¹¹ At the start of 2007, Penélope Cruz and U2's Bono were rumored as having an affair after being photographed holding hands. This rumor quickly expired.

Apart from being a close personal friend of the actress Salma Hayek, Cruz is also a good friend of Colombian singer Shakira.

In April 2007 Cruz, who was single at the time, stated that she would like to have children one day and she feels the need to adopt. "Of course I want to have kids," Cruz, 34, told the Spanish edition of Marie Claire in its April issue. "I want to have my own kids, but also adopt. For a while I've had the feeling that my life won't be complete if I don't adopt".¹²

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

• 2006 Nominated Academy Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for: Volver (2006)

Golden Globe Awards

• 2006 Nominated Golden Globe Best Actress in a Dramatic Role for: Volver (2006)

Goya Awards

• 1992 Nominated Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) for: Jamón, jamón (1992)
• 1998 Won Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
• 2004 Nominated Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) for: Non ti muovere (2004)
• 2006 Won Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) for: Volver (2006)

Spanish Actors Union

• 1992 Nominated Newcomer Award for: Jamón, jamón (1992)
• 1992 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Supporting Performance (Secundario Cine) for: Belle Époque (1992)
• 1997 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Performance in a Minor Role (Reparto Cine) for: Carne trémula (1997)
• 1998 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Lead Performance (Protagonista Cine) for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
• 2006 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Lead Performance (Protagonista Cine) for: Volver (2007)

Fotogramas de Plata

• 1998 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor Actriz de Cine) for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
• 2006 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor Actriz de Cine) for: Volver (2006)

Cannes International Film Festival - To the female ensemble cast

• 2006 Won Cannes Award Best Actress for: Volver (2006) award shared with Carmen Maura; Lola Dueñas; Blanca Portillo; Yohana Cobo; Chus Lampreave

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

• 2008 Won Award like Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for: Elegy and Vicky Cristina Barcelona

David di Donatello Awards

• 2004 Won David Best Actress (Migliore Attrice Protagonista) for: Non ti muovere (2004)

European Film Awards

• 1998 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
• 2001 Nominated Audience Award Best Actress for: Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
• 2003 Nominated Audience Award Best Actress for: Fanfan la tulipe (2003)
• 2004 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress for: Non ti muovere (2004)
• 2004 Won Audience Award Best Actress for: Non ti muovere (2004)
• 2006 Won European Film Award Best Actress for: Volver (2006)

Golden Satellite Awards

• 2008 Nominated Satellite Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role for: Elegy (2008)
• 2006 Nominated Satellite Award Best Actress in a Dramatic Role for: Volver (2006)

ALMA Awards

• 1998 Nominated ALMA Award Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film for: The Hi-Lo Country (1998)
• 2001 Nominated ALMA Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for: Vanilla Sky (2001)

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

• 2000 Nominated Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actress - Drama/Romance for: All the Pretty Horses (2000)

Imagen Foundation Awards

• 2003 Creative Achievement Award

MTV Movie Awards

• 2001 Nominated MTV Movie Award Breakthrough Female Performance for: Blow (2001)

NAACP Image Awards

• 2006 Nominated NAACP Image Award Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for: Volver (2006)

Ondas Awards

• 1992 Won Ondas Film Award Best Acting (Mejor Interpretación) tied with Javier Bardem (no award category given officially).

Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival

• 1994 Won Best Actress for: Todo es mentira (1994)

Razzie Awards

• 2001 Nominated Razzie Award Worst Actress for: Blow (2001), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) and Vanilla Sky (2001).

References

External links

• Penélope Cruz at the Internet Movie Database
• Captivating Penélope Cruz
• Penélope Cruz Cannes Interview