Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and Encarna Sanchez who was hairdresser. As a child, she was an obsessive performer who would recreate commercials on television for the enjoyment of her parents. But, she decided to devote her energies to dance. She continued her training with a variety of highly-regarded dancers, after having spent nine years learning classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. Her true calling was discovered at age 15 after she defeated over 300 other girls in an audition held by an agency for talent. She was then offered roles on Spanish TV and music videos. The contract led to a number of more roles, opening the doors to a successful career in the world of big screens. Cruz made her debut film in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). Then she briefly was in Framed (1992) in a Timothy Dalton thriller. Her next film was the Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992), where she played one of the four sisters vying to win the heart of a handsome deserter from the Army. This film won many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. The list of credits continued to grow by the number of films she acted in each year, and eventually Cruz was an established star in Spanish cinema. Live Flesh (1997) (Live Flesh) offered her the chance to work with renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (who would later be her ticket to international fame), and the same year she was the lead actress in the thriller/drama/mystery/sci-fi film Open Your Eyes (1997), a huge hit in Spain that earned eight Goyas (though none for Cruz). Her luck changed completely in 1998, when the industry-related film comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) earned her the Best Actress Goya. Cruz made several more trips to films in English, but All About My Mother (1999) was her first major international success. She played an unchaste however well-meaning nun. After the film was flooded with awards and praises, Cruz became in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001) is her next major project, is about Chefs who have amazing culinary skills and severe motion sickness. In the US,