Penelope Cruz pics ~ Penelope Cruz bio

Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974), better known as Penelope Cruz, is a Spanish actress. Penelope Cruz 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 Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is perhaps best known for her work with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, in Volver and Todo sobre mi madre. Cruz has been awarded three Goyas, two European Film Awards, and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Goya, and a BAFTA for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is Spain’s first female Oscar winner.

Penelope Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the video for “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, an erotic French TV serial. In one episode she played the role of a blind prostitute and in another played a young noblewoman 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.

penelope cruz

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 also won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 2000 she appeared with Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses.

For Penelope Cruz, the early 2000s 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. Returning to Europe, in 2004, Cruz learned Italian (Penelope Cruz already spoke Spanish, French, and English) to star in the film Don’t Move. She earned critical praise for her role and earned the coveted David di Donatello award, the Italian equivalent of the Oscar.

penelope cruz

penelope cruz

penelope cruz

penelope cruz (click to enlarge)