She made history as the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar: Who is Penélope Cruz?

Her full name is Penélope Cruz Sánchez, she was born on April 28, 1974 in the Spanish province of Madrid. She was born to her mother, Andalusian hairdresser and personal manager Encarna Sánchez, and her father, Extremaduran retailer and car mechanic Eduardo Cruz. Cruz has two siblings, an actress named Mónica and a singer named Eduardo. She also has a half-sister named Salma she. Raised as a Roman Catholic, Cruz grew up in the town of Alcobendas in Madrid. Cruz said she had a happy childhood.

Focusing on dance at first, Cruz studied classical ballet for nine years at the Spanish National Conservatory and three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theater at Cristina Rota's school. As a teenager, she became interested in acting after watching the movie "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!"(1990) directed by Pedro Almodóvar.

The 15 year old Cruz made her acting debut in 1989 when she appeared in the music video for the song "La Fuerza del Destino" by Spanish pop group Mecano. She also starred in an episode of an erotic French television series called "Série rose" in 1991, where she appeared nude. In 1991, Cruz made her feature film debut as the female lead in the romantic tragicomedy "Jamón, jamón." People magazine reported that Cruz became a "major sex symbol" after appearing topless in the movie. The film received positive reviews and praise for Cruz's performance. Additionally, she was nominated for the Spanish Actors Guild Newcomer Award and Goya Award for her performance.

Cruz, who starred in ten Spanish and Italian films from 1993 to 1996, went to live in New York for two years between filming at the age of 20 to study ballet and English.

In 1997, Cruz appeared in the Spanish comedy "Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health" and "Live Flesh" directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Her last appearance in the same year was the Spanish sci-fi drama film "Abre Los Ojos"/"Open Your Eyes" directed by Alejandro Amenabar, and the film received positive reviews.

Cruz made her American film debut in 1998 when she appeared with Billy Crudup in the Stephen Frears western film "The Hi-Lo Country". The film failed both critically and commercially. But Cruz was nominated for an ALMA Award for her performance in the film. In the same year, she appeared in the French film "Don Juan" and the Spanish drama "The Girl of Your Dreams". Her performance in the second film was praised by the critics. Cruz's role was hailed as her "biggest role to date" and for her performance she received a Goya Award, a Spanish Actors Guild Award and a European Film Award nomination.

In 2000, she co-starred with Harold Perrineau as the female lead in the fantasy romantic comedy film "Woman on Top" directed by Fina Torres. Both Cruz and Perrineau's performances in the film were praised. In the same year, she appeared in the western movie "All the Pretty Horses" directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

2001 marked a turning point in her career when she appeared in the science fiction thriller "Vanilla Sky" and the biographical crime film "Blow". The first film received mixed reviews and earned $200 million worldwide. Cruz's performance was received positively by critics. In the latter, she co-starred with Johnny Depp, and the film was a healthy success at the box office, receiving mixed reviews. In the same year, she appeared in the comedy film "Don't Tempt Me", which received many negative reviews. Her last film in 2001 was the war movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" directed by John Madden. Although the film was not well received by critics, it earned a moderate financial gain worldwide.

Cruz starred in the drama film "Christmas" and the romantic war drama film "Head in the Clouds" in 2004. She also appeared in the Italian film "Don't Move" directed by Sergio Castellitto. Learning Italian for the role, Cruz won the David di Donatello Award and the European Film Award for her performance. In 2005, Cruz appeared in the action adventure movie "Sahara", starring. Although the film grossed healthily worldwide, it failed to recoup its production budget.

Cruz appeared with Salma Hayek in the Western action comedy movie "Bandidas" (2006). Also in 2006, Cruz received critical acclaim for her role in the comedy-drama film "Volver" directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Sharing the Best Actress Award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with her five co-stars, Cruz won the Goya Award and the European Film Award. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award, and Academy Award for Best Actress. Thus, she became the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2007, Cruz appeared in the lead role in "Manolete," a biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez. The movie received a lot of critical reviews. The following year, she co-starred with Ben Kingsley in the romantic drama film "Elegy" directed by Isabel Coixet. Cruz's performance was met with critical acclaim. In the same year, she was critically acclaimed by appearing in the romantic comedy-drama film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" directed by Woody Allen. She received a Goya Award, her first Academy Award, and a BAFTA Award for her performance. It also earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Cruz made history as the first and only Spanish actress to win an Academy Award, and the sixth Hispanic actress to win the Oscar.

Cruz's next film was a voiceover role in the spy adventure-comedy "G-Force" (2009). The film was a worldwide commercial success. Also, for her role in "Broken Embraces" (2009), Cruz was nominated for Satellite Awards and European Film Awards. Her last film in the same year was her appearance in "Nine", a romantic musical drama film. Cruz trained for three months for her dance in the movie and was nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globes and SAG Awards for her performance.

Cruz's only film in 2010 was the romantic comedy "Sex and the City 2," a sequel to the 2008 film. The film, which was a commercial success, was heavily criticized by critics. Cruz also appeared in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011), the fourth installment in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series, directed by Rob Marshall and co-starring with Johnny Depp. The role was rated as Cruz's biggest comeback in Hollywood to date. In the movie, Cruz played Angelica, Jack Sparrow's ex-girlfriend. Cruz took two months to learn and master fencing for the role. The movie was among the highest-grossing movies of all time. On April 1, 2011, Cruz became the first Spanish actress to star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2013, Cruz starred in Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" with a cast of Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem. The detective thriller was a moderate commercial success at the international box office, receiving mostly negative reviews from critics.

In 2015, Cruz co-produced and co-starred in the Spanish drama film "Ma Ma" directed by Julio Medem. Cruz later referred to her role as "one of the most complex, beautiful characters ever presented to me, the most difficult". Cruz's 2016 film debut was the action comedy "Zoolander 2," starring and directed by Ben Stiller. A fan of the original 2001 movie, Cruz was one of the first actors to appear in their respective roles. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.

Also in 2016, Cruz appeared in the Spanish comedy-drama film "The Queen of Spain", the sequel to 'The Girl of Your Dreams'. Selected to screen at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film received moderate reviews and received five nominations at the Goya Awards, giving Cruz her ninth nomination.

She appeared in the biographical crime drama film "Loving Pablo" (2017) with her husband, Javier Bardem, directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. The movie received mixed reviews. She then had a supporting role in "Murder on the Orient Express", the fourth adaptation of Kenneth Branagh's novel of the same name. The film was a worldwide financial success and received mixed and positive reviews from critics.

In 2018, Cruz made her television debut as Donatella Versace in the second season series of the FX anthology television series "The Assassination of Gianni Versace." She received critical acclaim for her performance and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2021, she starred in the black comedy drama film "Official Competition" directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, and the Spanish drama film "Parallel Mothers" directed by Almodóvar. Both films received rave reviews. She won the Volpi Cup and her second Academy Award nomination for the movie "Parallel Mothers".

The following year, she starred as the female lead in the spy action thriller "The 355" directed by Simon Kinberg and starring alongside Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyongo, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan and Édgar Ramírez. Cruz will star in the thriller and social drama "On the Fringe," her feature debut directed by Juan Diego Botto. She will also star alongside Adam Driver and Shailene Woodley in the biopic "Ferrari" about the life of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the Ferrari brand, directed by Michael Mann.

Private life

Cruz had a three year relationship with Tom Cruise after appearing together in "Vanilla Sky" (2001). Cruz started a relationship with Spanish actor Javier Bardem in 2007. The couple married in a private ceremony in the Bahamas in early July 2010 and have been co-stars in several movies. The couple has a son, Leo Encinas Cruz, born in January 2011, and a daughter, Luna Encinas Cruz, born in July 2013.

Known as 'Pe' to her friends, Cruz owns a clothing store in Madrid. Cruz has donated money and contributed to many charities. She can speak four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English.

In 2006, Cruz became a spokesperson for the French cosmetics company L'Oréal. Cruz, who was ranked 58th in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" list in 2007, was also included in Empire magazine's "100 Sexiest Movie Stars" list of the world. In addition, she appeared on the Askmen.com web portal at the 26th place in the list of the Most Desirable Women of 2008, ranked 25th in 2009 and 7th in 2010. In April 2010, she became the new face and ambassador of the Trésor fragrance for the Lancôme brand.

Cruz was a guest editor for the French Vogue magazine in 2010. She is ranked 32nd on Men's Health magazine's "100 Hottest Women of All Time" list, and Esquire magazine named Cruz the "Sexiest Woman Alive" in 2014. The movie 'Vanilla Sky' starring Tom Cruise was very well received at the box office and marks the highest point on her career chart as her highest-grossing film to date.