Penélope Cruz
Spanish actress and Academy Award winner.
Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born on 28 April 1974 in Alcobendas, a town in the province of Madrid, Spain. Her mother, Encarna Sánchez, worked as a hairdresser and personal manager, while her father, Eduardo Cruz, was a retailer and car mechanic. She has a sister, Mónica, who also became an actress, and a brother, Eduardo, a singer, as well as a paternal half-sister named Salma. Raised Roman Catholic, Cruz described her childhood as happy, often spending time at her grandmother’s apartment. She recalled being aware of acting even while playing with friends, pretending to be someone else. Her early focus was dance; she studied classical ballet for nine years at Spain’s National Conservatory, followed by three years of Spanish ballet and four years of theatre training at Cristina Rota’s school. She credited ballet with instilling the discipline that later served her acting career. Her interest in cinema deepened around age ten or eleven after her father bought a Betamax machine, then rare in her neighborhood. As a teenager, she was inspired to pursue acting after seeing Pedro Almodóvar’s film *Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!* (1990). She persistently auditioned for an agent who initially rejected her three times for being too young, but she eventually succeeded. At fifteen, in 1989, she won an audition at a talent agency against over 300 other applicants. Her agent later remarked that Cruz had a magnetic presence even as a young, inexperienced performer. Her father died in 2015 at age 62 from a heart attack. Cruz made her acting debut at sixteen on television, followed by her feature film debut in *Jamón Jamón* (1992), where she played the lead role of Silvia. The film included nude scenes, which she later admitted she was not fully prepared for, but she considered it a life-changing opportunity. Her performance earned her nominations for a Spanish Actors Union Newcomer Award and a Goya Award for Best Actress.
- born
- 28 April 1974
- field
- Actress
- nationality
- Spanish
- known_for
- Academy Award, BAFTA Award, David di Donatello, three Goya Awards; collaborations with Pedro Almodóvar; role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Lore & Background
Cruz made her acting debut on television at age 16, and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón Jamón (1992). She collaborated with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar in Live Flesh (1997), All About My Mother (1999), Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), I'm So Excited! (2013), Pain and Glory (2019), and Parallel Mothers (2021). For her role in Woody Allen's romantic drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other Oscar-nominated roles are in Volver (2006) and Nine (2009). She is the only Spanish actress to have won an Academy Award and to have received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007 she won the David di Donatello for the leading role in Don't Move.
Reader's Guide
Cruz was born on 28 April 1974 in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain. She studied classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory and took three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theatre at Cristina Rota's school. She made her acting debut in a music video in 1989 and hosted the Spanish TV talk show La Quinta Marcha between 1990 and 1991. Her feature film debut was in Jamón, jamón (1991). She has also modelled for Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal, and designed clothing for Mango with her sister Mónica Cruz. She has been a house ambassador for Chanel since 2018. She volunteered in Uganda and India and donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund Mother Teresa's mission.
Did You Know?
- Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).
- She is the only Spanish actress to have won an Academy Award.
- She received Oscar nominations for Volver (2006) and Nine (2009).
- She won the David di Donatello for Best Actress for Don't Move (2007).
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974), nicknamed simply Pe, is a Spanish actress named after a song by Joan Manuel Serrat." — Penélope Cruz "The most important lesson I've learned in this business is how to say no. I have said no to a lot of temptations, and I am glad I did." — Penélope Cruz "The good thing is that I have always had wonderful people around me. It's dangerous when you start earning a lot of money and you become famous when you are too young." — Penélope Cruz "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." — Penélope Cruz
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