Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez is the daughter of Eduardo Cruz, a Madrid hairdresser, as well as Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser from Madrid. As a young child she was an obsessed performer. She would even re-enact TV commercials for the amusement of her family. But, she decided to dedicate her time to dance. After pursuing classical ballet for nine years in Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of famous dancers. When she was 15 she realized her real calling when she bested over 300 girls at an audition for a talent agency. The contract she received landed her roles in Spanish TV shows , as well as music videos. The contract opened the possibility of a lucrative career in the world of film. Cruz was first seen in a movie in The Greek Labyrinth (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth) and then briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller Framed (1992). The third film she starred in, Belle Epoque (1992), was an Oscar-winning production where she played one of the four sisters that were competing to win the love of the handsome deserter soldier. The film also won many Goyas which is the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. She continued adding films to her portfolio, growing by three or four every year. Soon Cruz was the leading lady 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). It all changed in 1998 when her movie industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) won her a Best Actress Goya. After a few more tries in English-language films her first international hit was the film of Almodovar All About My Mother (1999), where she played an unchaste, yet very well-meaning nun. Cruz discovered herself extremely sought-after across both sides of the Atlantic as her film received many awards and praises. Woman on Top (2000) was her next major project. The film was an American comedy about a chef with extraordinary culinary talents and extreme motion sickness. In the US,