Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez is the daughter of Eduardo Cruz, a Madrid hairdresser, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser from Madrid. She was an obsessive performer as a young girl and would reenact TV commercials to keep the family entertained. However, she chose to concentrate her energy on dancing. She continued her dance training with a number of well-respected dancers, after having spent nine years studying classical ballet at Spain's National Conservatory. She realized what she wanted to do at the age of 15, when she beat more than 300 other girls during an audition with a talent agency. The contract she received landed her roles in Spanish TV programs as well as music videos. This opened the possibility of a lucrative career on the big screen. Cruz made her debut in a film with The Greek Labyrinth (1993). (The Greek Labyrinth). After that she appeared in a brief scene in Framed (1992) by Timothy Dalton. Her third film was an Oscar-winning film, Belle Epoque (1992), where she was one of four sisters vying to win the heart of a handsome deserter from the Army. It also won several Goyas in Spain which is the Spanish equivalent to the Academy Awards. She continued adding films to her list of credits, growing by three or four each year. Soon Cruz was the most sought-after actress 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 film industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) brought her the title of Best Actress Goya. Cruz made a few more forays into English-language film, but her first big international hit was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999), in which she played an unchaste but thoughtful nun. As the film was showered with accolades and awards Cruz was suddenly sought-after on both sides of the Atlantic. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001) which was her subsequent major film, follows the chef who is able to combine remarkable culinary talents and severe motion sickness. In the US,