Early life

She was born in the working-class town of Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, to Encarna (née Sánchez), a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and car mechanic. She has two siblings, Monica, an actress, and Eduardo, Jr. She also has a paternal half-sister, Salma. She was raised as a Roman Catholic. Cruz grew up in Alcobendas, and spent long hours at her grandmother's apartment. She says she had a happy childhood. Cruz remembers "playing with some friends and being aware that I was acting as I was playing with them. I would think of a character and pretend to be someone else."

Initially, Cruz focused on dance, having studied classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory. She took three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theatre at Cristina Rota's New York school. She says that ballet instilled in her discipline that would be important in her future acting career. When she became a cinephile at 10 or 11, her father bought a Betamax machine, which was then a very rare thing to own in her neighborhood.

As a teenager, Cruz became interested in acting after seeing the film Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. She did casting calls for an agent but was rejected multiple times because the agent felt that she was too young. Cruz commented on the experience, "I was very extroverted as a kid.... I was studying when I was in high school at night, I was in ballet and I was doing castings. I looked for an agent and she sent me away three times because I was a little girl but I kept coming back. I'm still with her after all these years." In 1989, at the age of 15, Cruz won an audition at a talent agency over more than 300 other girls. In 1999, Katrina Bayonas, Cruz's agent, commented, "She was absolutely magic . It was obvious there was something very impressive about this kid.... She was very green, but there was a presence. There was just something coming from within."

Her father Eduardo died at his home in Spain in 2015, aged 62, due to heart attack.

Acting career

Early work, 1989-1996

In 1989, 15-year-old Cruz made her acting debut in a music video for the Spanish pop group Mecano's song "La Fuerza del Destino". Between 1990 and 1997, she hosted the Spanish TV channel Telecinco's talk show La Quinta Marcha, a programme that was hosted by teenagers, aimed at a teenage audience. She also played in the "Elle et lui" episode of an erotic French TV series called Série rose in 1991, where she appeared nude. In 1992, Cruz made her feature film debut at 18 as the lead female role in the comedy drama art house film, Jamón, jamón. In the film, she portrayed Silvia, a young woman who is expecting her first child with a man whose mother does not approve of the relationship and attempts to sabotage it by paying Javier Bardem's character to seduce her. People magazine noted that after Cruz appeared topless in the film, she became "a major sex symbol". In an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News in 1999, Cruz commented that "it was a great part, but...I wasn't really ready for the nudity. But I have no regrets because I wanted to start working and it changed my life." Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes noted that Cruz "became an overnight sensation as much for her nude scenes as for her talent". When Rose asked Cruz if she was concerned about how she would be perceived after her role in the film, Cruz replied, "I just knew I had to do the complete opposite."

Jamón, jamón received favorable reviews, with Chris Hicks of the Deseret News describing Cruz's portrayal of Silvia as "enchanting". Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, film critic Roger Ebert wrote "it stars actors of considerable physical appeal, most particularly Penélope Cruz as Silvia". For her performance, Cruz was nominated for a Spanish Actors Union Newcomer Award and a Goya Award for Best Actress. The same year she appeared in the Academy-Award winning Belle Epoque as the virginal Luz. People magazine noted that Cruz's role as Luz showed that she was versatile. From 1993 to 1996, Cruz appeared in ten Spanish and Italian films. At 20, she went to live in New York for two years at Christopher and Greenwich to study ballet and English between films. She recalls learning English "kind of late" only knowing the dialogue she had learned for the casting beyond that, she could only say, "How are you?" and "Thank you."

Early critical success, 1997-2000

Cruz's agent is Hylda Queally, shared with Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet. In 1997, Cruz appeared in the Spanish comedy film Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health. She portrays Diana, a fan of the Beatles band member John Lennon; she tries unsuccessfully to meet him. Years later, after multiple failed relationships, Diana re-unites with an acquaintance under unusual circumstances. Also in 1997, she appeared in the opening scene of Pedro Almodóvar's Live Flesh as a prostitute who gives birth on a bus and in Et hjørne af paradis (A Corner of Paradise) as Doña Helena. Cruz's final appearance in 1997 was the Amenabar-directed Spanish sci-fi drama, "Abre Los Ojos"/ Open Your Eyes. She plays Sofia, the love interest of Eduardo Noriega's lead character. Open Your Eyes received positive reviews, and was later remade by U.S. director Cameron Crowe as "Vanilla Sky" (who cast Cruz in the same role and Tom Cruise in Noriega's role), but "Open Your Eyes" was not commercially successful. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal commented in his September 2002 review that Cruz "has been getting some really bad reviews for her recent American work, but I personally think that she's a more than decent actress, especially here, where she's charming, moving and always believable. There's one shot in particular, where Cruz enters a room in a greenish glow, which is right out of Hitchcock's picture ."

The following year, Cruz appeared in her first American film as Billy Crudup's consolation-prize Mexican girlfriend in Stephen Frears' western film, The Hi-Lo Country. Cruz stated that she had difficulties understanding people speaking English while she was filming The Hi-Lo Country. The film was critically and commercially unsuccessful. Kevin Lally of the Film Journal International commented in his review for the film that "in an ironic casting twist, the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz is much more appealing as Josepha ". For her performance in the film, she was nominated for an ALMA Award for Best Actress. Also in 1998 Cruz appeared in Don Juan and The Girl of Your Dreams.

In the period drama The Girl of Your Dreams (La niña de tus ojos), Cruz portrayed Macarena Granada, a singer who is in an on-and-off relationship with Antonio Resines's character, Blas. They are part of a Francoist film troupe that travels from Spain during the Spanish Civil War to Nazi Germany for a joint production with UFA. Cruz's performance in the film was praised by film critics, with Jonathan Holloland of Variety magazine writing "if confirmation is still needed that Cruz is an actress first and a pretty face second, then here it is". A writer for Film4 commented that "Cruz herself is the inevitable focus of the film" but noted that overall the film "looks great". Cruz's role as Macerna has been viewed as her "largest role to date". For her performance, Cruz received a Goya Award and Spanish Actors' Union Award, and was nominated for a European Film Award. In 1999, Cruz worked with Almodóvar again in All About My Mother, playing Sister María Rosa Sanz, a pregnant nun with AIDS. The film received favorable reviews, and was commercially successful, grossing over $67 million worldwide, although it performed better at the box office internationally than domestically.

In 2000, she appeared in Woman on Top in the lead female role as Isabelle, a world-class chef who has suffered from motion sickness since birth, her first American lead role. Lisa Nesselson of Variety magazine praised the performances of both Cruz and her co-star, Harold Perrineau, saying they "burst off the screen", and added that Cruz has a charming accent. BBC News film critic Jane Crowther said that "Cruz is wonderfully ditzy as the innocent abroad" but remarked that "it's Harold Perrineau Jr as Monica who pockets the movie". Annlee Ellingson of Box Office magazine wrote "Cruz is stunning in the role—innocent and vulnerable yet possessing a mature grace and determined strength, all while sizzling with unchecked sensuality." Also in 2000, she played Alejandra Villarreal, who is Matt Damon's love interest in Billy Bob Thornton's film adaptation of the western bestselling novel, All the Pretty Horses. Susan Stark of the Detroit News commented that in the film Thornton was able to guide Damon, Henry Thomas and Cruz to "their most impressive performances in a major movie yet". However, Bob Longigo of The Atlanta Journal Constitution was less enthusiastic about Cruz and Damon's performance, saying that their "resulting onscreen chemistry would hardly warm a can of beans".

Breakthrough acting, 2001-2005

2001 marked a turning point year when Cruz starred in the feature films Vanilla Sky and Blow. In Vanilla Sky, Cameron Crowe's interpretation of Open Your Eyes, she played Sofia Serrano, the love interest of Tom Cruise's character. The film received mixed reviews but made $200 million worldwide. Her performance was well received by critics, with BBC film critic Brandon Graydon saying that Cruz "is an enchanting screen presence", and Ethan Alter of the Film Journal International noting that Cruz and her co-star Cruise were "able to generate some actual chemistry". Her next film was Blow, adapted from Bruce Porter's 1993 book Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 million with the Medellín Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All. She had a supporting role as Mirtha Jung, the wife of Johnny Depp's character. The film received mixed reviews, but made $80 million worldwide. Nina Willdorf of the Boston Phoenix described Cruz as "multi-talented" and Mark Salvo of The Austin Chronicle wrote "I may be one of the last male holdouts to join the Cruz-Rules camp, but her tour de force performance here sucks you right in."

In 2001, she also appeared in Don't Tempt Me, playing Carmen Ramos. The film received negative reviews. Jeff Vice of the Deseret News commented that "unfortunately, casting Cruz as a tough girl is a hilariously bad " and Michael Miller of the Village Voice writing that "as Satan's helper Carmen, Penélope Cruz doesn't hold a candle to her cocaine-huffing enabler in Blow". Cruz's last film in 2001 was Captain Corelli's Mandolin, film adaption of the novel of the same name. She played Pelagia, who falls in love with another man while her fiancé is in battle during the Second World War. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was not well received by critics, but made $62 million worldwide. In 2002, she had a minor role in Waking Up in Reno. It had negative reviews and was a box office failure, making $267,000 worldwide. The following year, Cruz had a supporting role in the horror film Gothika, as Chloe Sava, a patient at a mental hospital. David Rooney of Variety wrote that Cruz "adds a serviceably malevolent edge to Chole's apparent madness". Cruz's performance in Fanfan la Tulipe, also in 2003, was not well received, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian commenting that Cruz "deserves a special Cannes Razzie for a performance of purest teak".

In 2004, Cruz appeared in the Christmas film Noel as Nina, the girlfriend of Paul Walker's character and as Mia in the romantic drama, Head in the Clouds, set in the 1930s. Head in the Clouds performed poorly at the box office. For Head in the Clouds, Bruce Birkland of Jam! Canoe said, "The story feels forced and the performances dreary, with the notable exception of Cruz, who seems to be in a different film from the rest of the cast." Desson Thompson of The Washington Post was more critical; his comment about the character's "pronounced limp" was that "Cruz (hardly the world's greatest actress) can't even perform without looking fake". She also starred in Sergio Castellitto's melodrama Don't Move. Cruz, who learned Italian for the role, earned critical acclaim for her performance and won the David di Donatello. She was also awarded the European Film Award for Best Actress for the film in 2004. In 2005, Cruz appeared as Dr. Eva Rojas in the action adventure Sahara. She earned $1.6 million for her supporting role. The film grossed $110 million worldwide but did not recoup its $160 million budget. Moviefone dubbed the film "one of the most famous flops in history" and in 2007, listed it at 24 on its list of "Biggest Box-Office Turkeys of All Time". Lori Hoffman of the Atlantic City Weekly felt Cruz put her "considerable skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas" and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz's performance as a "black hole", that she "lacks screen presence". Also in 2005, Cruz appeared in Chromophobia, screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and released the following year. Mathew Turner of View London said Cruz's character Gloria, a cancer-riddled prostitute, is "actually more interesting than the main storyline" while Time Evan's of Sky Movies wrote, "The Cruz/Ifans storyline—featuring the only two remotely sympathetic characters—never really fuses with the main plot." Her final 2005 film was Don't Move playing Italia. Eric Harrison of the Houston Chronicle noted that Cruz "goes all out" with her appearance and Patrick Peters of Empire magazine commented that the film's director, who also appears in the film, was able to draw a "sensitive performance" from Cruz.

Worldwide recognition, 2006-2009

Cruz appeared alongside her good friend Salma Hayek in the 2006 Western comedy film, Bandidas. Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic said the film "sports" Cruz and her co-star Salma Hayek as the "lusty dream team" and that they were the "marketing fantasy" for the film. Also in 2006, Cruz received favourable reviews for her performance as Raimunda in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. Carina Chocano of The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Cruz, who has remarked that in Hollywood she's rarely allowed to be anything more than pretty, instills her with an awesome resoluteness and strength of character." She shared a Best Actress award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival with five of her co-stars, as well as receiving a Goya Award and European Film Award, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. She was the first Spaniard to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 2007, Cruz appeared in the lead female role in Manolete, a biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, playing Antoñita "Lupe" Sino. She also appeared in The Good Night, playing two characters, Anna and Melody. TV Guide film critic Maitland McDonagh noted that in the film Cruz "expertly mines the contrast between chic, compliant, white-clad Anna and funky, street-wise Melody, who treats Gary like the world-class drag he is". In 2008, Cruz appeared in Isabel Coixet's film Elegy, which was based on the Philip Roth story The Dying Animal, as the lead female role, Consuela Castillo. Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter described Cruz's performance as being "outstanding in an otherwise lame male fantasy ". Later that year, she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as María Elena, a mentally unstable woman, which was praised. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Cruz's performance in the film. Cruz received a Goya Award and her first Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received a Golden Globe and SAG nomination. Cruz was the first Spanish actress to ever be awarded an Academy Award in that category and the sixth Hispanic person to ever receive the award.

After being shelved since 2007, Cruz's film Manolete (originally shot in 2005) released on demand via cable, satellite, telco and online in June 7, 2011 under the title A Matador's Mistress.

Cruz's next film was the kid-friendly G-Force voicing a guinea pig spy named Juarez. G-Force was a commercial success, making over $290 million worldwide. Also in 2009, she appeared in the film Broken Embraces as Lena. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com noted in her review for the film that Cruz "doesn't coast on her beauty in Broken Embraces, and she has the kind of role that can be difficult to flesh out". Cruz received nominations from the Satellite Awards and European Film Awards for her performance in Broken Embraces. Cruz's final 2009 film was the film version of the musical Nine, playing the character Carla Albanese, the lead character's mistress. Variety reported that Cruz had originally auditioned for the role of the film within a film's star, Claudia, which eventually went to Nicole Kidman. Cruz said that she trained for three months for the dance routine in the film. Claudia Puig of USA Today commented that while Cruz "does a steamy song and dance", her "acting is strangely caricatured". Cruz's performance as Carla garnered her nominations for Best Supporting Actress from the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

2010s

Cruz only film of 2010 Sex and the City 2, the sequel to the 2008 film, in which she appeared as a banker in a cameo role. A commercial success, the comedy film was largely panned by critics. Cruz appeared in her biggest Hollywood turn to date in Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment in the film series, opposite Johnny Depp. In the film, Cruz portrayed Angelica, a former love interest of Jack Sparrow, who blames him for her corruption. Cruz was the only actress considered for the role, as she fit Marshall's description and invited her for the role as they wrapped the production of Nine. The actress spent two months working out and learning fencing for the role. During filming, Cruz discovered she was pregnant, leading the costume department to redesign her wardrobe to be more elastic, and the producers to hire her sister Mónica Cruz to double for Penélope in risky scenes. One of the most expensive film ever made, On Stranger Tides ranks among the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than $$1.046 billion in box-office receipts worldwide. On 1 April 2011, prior to the film's release, Cruz received the 2,436th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre. She became the first Spanish actress to receive a Star.

In 2012, Cruz appeared in the first ever Nintendo commercial to promote New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Nintendo 3DS XL in which she played the role of Mario in the ad. She spoke Italian again, this time in Woody Allen's romantic ensemble comedy film To Rome with Love, in which she portrayed a street-smart prostitute who agrees to pretend to be the wife of a newlywed. Fond to work with her again, Allen compared Cruz's play in the film with that of Italian icons Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren. While the film garnered mixed reviews in general, Cruz received favourable reviews for her "exuberantly, cartoonishly sexy" performance, which reviewers such as The Week cited as a stand out. The same year, Cruz also reunited with Italian director Sergio Castellitto in his war tale Twice Born about an infertile Italian woman who returns to relive her past in Sarajevo. An adaptation of Castellitto's wife Margaret Mazzantini's same-titled bestseller, Cruz portrayed the transitional character at different phases in her life, ranging from her early twenties to her late forties. Despite receiving little praise from critics, Cruz's performance opposite Emile Hirsch earned positive reviews.

In 2013, Cruz appeared in Ridley Scott's The Counselor, featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and husband Javier Bardem. The crime thriller follows a lawyer who, tempted by the lure of quick money, finds himself involved in drug dealing with ruthless Mexican cartels. Cruz plays his girlfriend, Laura, the only innocent character in the story. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and became a moderate commercial success at the international box offices. The same year, Cruz along with Antonio Banderas made a cameo appearance in Pedro Almodóvar's farcical comedy I'm So Excited, which marked a return to the director's light, campy comedies of the 1980s and 1990s."

In 2015, Cruz co-produced and starred in the Spanish drama film Ma Ma, directed by Julio Medem. In it, she plays Magda, a gutsy mother and unemployed teacher, who is diagnosed with breast cancer, a role which Cruz later cited as "one of the most complex, beautiful characters I've ever been offered, the most difficult." The melodrama was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it garnered generally negative reviews for its weepie story line. Cruz however was praised for her "aces performance," which earned her an eighth Goya nomination at the 30th awards ceremony.

Cruz's first film of 2016 was the American comedy Zoolander 2, co-starring and directed by Ben Stiller. In the sequel film, Cruz portrayed a secret Interpol agent who enlists models Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and Hansel McDonald, played by Owen Wilson, to help find out who is killing the world’s most beautiful people. Specifically written for her persona, Cruz, a fan of the original 2001 film, was one of the first actors to be cast in their parts. Upon its release, the film received generally negative reviews from critics, who felt that it had "more celebrity cameos than laughs." Cruz's other film that year was Louis Leterrier's British spy comedy Grimsby, in which she played a powerful philanthropist, opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong. Cruz was reportedly offered $400,000 for her appearance in the film, which was released to generally mixed reviews from critics, who felt that the actress was highly underused and "looking even less invested here than she did in Zoolander 2."

As of March 2016, Cruz has various film projects in different states of production. She will reteam with Fernando Trueba on his Spanish-language period pic The Queen of Spain, in which she plays a famous movie star who flees the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood to return to her roots in Madrid. Cruz will also co-produce the project. She has also signed on to appear in Fernando León de Aranoa's Pablo Escobar biopic Escobar, also starring husband Javier Bardem, and will start work with Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's on his second foreign film in fall 2016.

Public image

The most difficult thing in the world is to start a career known only for your looks, and then to try to become a serious actress. No one will take you seriously once you are known as the pretty woman.

In 2006, Cruz became spokesmodel for French cosmetics company L'Oréal to promote products such as the L'Oréal Paris hair dye Natural Match and L'Oreal mascara products. She receives $2 million a year for her work for the company. Cruz has appeared in print ads for Mango and had a contract with Ralph Lauren in 2001. Cruz and her sister designed their second collection for Mango in 2007. It was inspired by Brigitte Bardot and summers in St Tropez.

Cruz ranked as No. 58 in Maxim's "Hot 100" of 2007 list, and was chosen by Empire magazine as being one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world. Cruz was also ranked on Askmen.com's Most Desirable Women of 2008 at No. 26, in 2009 at No. 25, and in 2010 at No. 7. In April 2010, she replaced Kate Winslet as the new face and ambassador of Lancôme's Trésor fragrance. Lancôme has signed Cruz as the brand's third superstar spokesmodel, along with Julia Roberts and Winslet. The campaign was shot by Mario Testino at Paris's Hotel de Crillon and debuted in the autumn of 2010.

In 2010, Cruz was a guest editor for the French Vogue magazine, focusing on larger-size models in a provocative photo shoot. Almodóvar described her as his muse. On the cover of Spanish Vogue's December 2010 issue, she agreed to be photographed by fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh only if her pregnancy was not shown. In 2011, The Telegraph reported the most sought after body parts of the rich and famous revealed by two Hollywood plastic surgeons who carried out a survey among their patients to build up the picture of the perfect woman. Under the category of the most sought after body shape, Penélope Cruz, known for her voluptuous figure, was voted as having the top body. Men's Health ranked her at No. 32. on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list. Esquire named her the Sexiest Woman Alive in 2014.

During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, Cruz along with her husband signed an open letter, denouncing Israel's actions as a "genocide". a letter that was criticized by several Hollywood personalities including actor Jon Voight.

Philanthropy

Cruz has donated money and time to charity. In addition to work in Nepal, she has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent a week working with Mother Teresa that included assisting in a leprosy clinic. That trip inspired Cruz to help start a foundation to support homeless girls in India, where she sponsors two young women. She donated her salary from her first Hollywood film, The Hi-Lo Country, to Mother Teresa's mission. In the early 2000s, she spent time in Nepal photographing Tibetan children for an exhibition attended by the Dalai Lama. She also photographed residents at the Pacific Lodge Boys' Home, most of whom are former gang members and recovering substance abusers. She said: "These kids break my heart. I have to control myself not to cry. Not out of pity, but seeing how tricky life is and how hard it is to make the right choices." A pregnant Cruz showed her support for the battle against AIDS by lighting up the Empire State Building with red lights in New York City on 1 December 2010 on International AIDS Day, as part of (RED)'s new awareness campaign, 'An AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015,' which aims to eradicate the HIV virus from pregnant mothers to their babies. In 2012, she posed for an ad supporting PETA's anti-fur campaign.

Personal life

Cruz is married to Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Bardem was her co-star in her first breakthrough role as Silvia in Jamon, Jamon as well as starring alongside her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. They were also both in the 2013 film The Counselor. Cruz began dating Bardem in 2007 and they married in early July 2010 in a private ceremony at a friend's home in the Bahamas. They have a son born in 2011 in Los Angeles, and a daughter born in 2013. She has become a public advocate of breastfeeding since the birth of her children.

Cruz had a three-year relationship with Tom Cruise after they appeared together in Vanilla Sky. It ended in January 2004. In April 2003, she filed a lawsuit against the Australian magazine New Idea for defamation over an article about her relationship with Cruise.

Cruz is a friend of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, whom she has known for more than two decades and with whom she has worked on films. She is known to friends as Pe. Cruz owns a clothing store in Madrid and designed jewelry and handbags with her younger sister for a company in Japan.

Filmography

Main article: Penélope Cruz filmography Charities

Penelope Cruz supports the following charitable cause: AIDS.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]