Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born in Spain on 28th April 1974, is married and has 2 children.
At a very young age, Penelope started taking classic ballet lessons and continued for 9 years. She also studied drama for 4 years. Her interest in acting began as a teenager in 1990, when she saw Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s movie ‘Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!’.
Whilst still studying ballet and theatre, she did several auditions but was always turned down because of her age. However, she did not give up and persevered and finally when she was 15, Penelope won an audition and her acting career took off..
In these three decades, Penelope showed her acting capability and became an international star as she performed in various roles in different film genres like drama, romantic comedy, thrillers etc. Initially, she starred in Spanish movies but in 1998 she had her first role in an American film. ‘Vanilla Sky’ is probably one of the most famous movies she starred in, alongside Tom Cruise, in 2001. Penelope also appeared in some TV series, as well as worked for renowned cosmetics, perfume and fashion design companies and magazines.
Cruz is also a philanthropist. Apart from donations, she carried out charitable work alongside Mother Theresa in India and even donated her first Hollywood film salary towards Mother Theresa’s mission. In addition, she also volunteered in Nepal and Uganda.
During her long career, Penelope was honoured with an Academy and British Academy Award, plus several Film Festival Awards, amongst others.