Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez is the daughter of Eduardo Cruz, a Madrid hairdresser, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser from Madrid. As a toddler she was already an avid performer, performing commercials on TV for her parents' entertainment, but she eventually decided to concentrate on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years in Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her education under a variety of famous dancers. When she turned 15, she heeded her true destiny when she outclassed over 300 other girls in a talent agency audition. She was offered roles on Spanish video and television. This contract led to a number of more roles, and opened the doors to a career on the big screen. Cruz made her debut film in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). Then she briefly was in Framed (1992) which was a Timothy Dalton thriller. Her final film, Belle Epoque (1992) was an Oscar-winning production where she played one of four sisters who were competing to win the love of a handsome deserter army soldier. The film has won numerous Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz became a prominent Spanish actress with her three- to four films per year increasing resume. 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). The luck of her life changed in 1998 when her movie industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) earned her the Best Actress Goya. Cruz also made a few ventures into film in the English language, but her biggest international success was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999), in which she played an unchaste but well-meaning nun. Cruz discovered herself extremely sought-after across both sides of the Atlantic because her film was awarded numerous awards and accolades. Her next film was Woman on Top (2000) which is an American comedy about a cook who is enchanting in her cooking skills and a severe bout of motion sickness. While she was in America,