 Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic. 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.
Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in 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 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.
Cruz's first two major films were both released in 1992 (when she was 18). They were Bigas Luna's Jamón, jamón and Fernando Trueba's Belle Époque, a film which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 1997, she appeared in her first Pedro Almodóvar's film, Live Flesh, and in the same year starred as Sofía Pangia, alongside Eduardo Noriega in Abre los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, while in 1999 she appeared in her second Almodóvar's film, Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother), which also won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 2000 she starred in her first English-language film, Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses, alongside Matt Damon.
For Cruz, the early 2000s were a period of mediocre reviews and mixed commercial success. In late 2001, after co-starring Johnny Depp in Ted Demme's Blow and Nicolas Cage in John Madden's Captain Corelli's Mandolin, she appeared in Vanilla Sky, the Hollywood remake of Abre los ojos. Returning to Europe, in 2004, Cruz learned Italian to star in Sergio Castellitto directorial debut, Don't Move. She earned critical praise for her role and earned the coveted David di Donatello award, the Italian equivalent to the Oscar, for her portrayal. Cruz speaks Castellano, French, English, and Italian.
In 2006, after two more years of commercial projects mixed with smaller projects, she co-starred with her best friend, Salma Hayek, in the film Bandidas, written and produced by Luc Besson. That same year, Cruz received highly favourable reviews for her performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. She shared a Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival with five of her co-stars, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. The latter of these nominations made her the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 2008, Cruz appeared with Sir Ben Kingsley in fellow Spaniard Isabel Coixet's film Elegy, earning her critical praise for an English-speaking role. The film was based on the Philip Roth story "The Dying Animal." She was nominated for a Golden Satellite award for her performance.
In 2008, she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as María Elena, Javier Bardem's mentally unstable ex-wife. Her performance received wide critical praise. For the role, Cruz received her second Academy Award Nomination, and later won for Best Supporting Actress, making her only the second Spanish actor to win an Academy Award, a year after her co-star, Javier Bardem, won for No Country for Old Men. She became the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award, and one of the only actors besides Ingrid Bergman to win the Oscar for a role speaking two different languages. Besides the Oscar, Cruz won the BAFTA, the Independent Spirit Award, the National Board of Review Award, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She also earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her role.
Cruz again collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar in his new film Los Abrazos Rotos, which is slated to be released in the U.S. in November 2009. She will also be featured in the film version of the musical Nine along with other Oscar winners Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Cotillard.
| VITAL STATS | | Eye color: Brown | | Height: 5' 4½" (1.64 m) | Nickname(s): Pe; Madonna of Madrid.
| Notable feature(s): Brunette, long hair, big smile.
| Education: Finished 2º B.U.P. (2nd year of secondary school). Had 4 years of dance performance with Cristina Rota, several dance courses at New York, 9 years of classic ballet at the Conservatorio Nacional and 3 years of Spanish ballet with Ángela Garrido.
| | Family: Eduardo Cruz (father), Encarna Sánchez (mother), Eduardo Cruz (brother), Mónica Cruz (sister). | Resides in: New York/Madrid
| | Religious affiliations: Roman Catholic | | Political affiliation: Unknown | Personal interests/hobbies: Dance; likes to keep stray cats.
| Charities/Causes: Founded a non-government organisation (NGO) called Sabera Foundation. Together with Nacho Cano and other Spanish entertainers, they have set up a home, a school and a clinic for homeless girls and people suffering from tuberculosis in Calcutta. Volunteered in Uganda for 2 months in 1997 with then boyfriend Faiz Ahmad.
| Other: First Spanish actress in history to win an Oscar.
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