In the 2000s, she has appeared in films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy Waking Up in Reno (2002), the thriller Gothika (2003), the Christmas movie Noel (2004), the action adventure Sahara (2005), the animated G-Force and the musical drama Nine. Her most notable films to date are Volver (2006), for which she earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), for which she received an Academy Award. She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award.
Cruz has modeled for companies such as Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal. Cruz and her younger sister Mónica Cruz have designed items for Mango. She has donated both her time and money to charities. Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working for Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission.
Contents
* 1 Early life
* 2 Acting career
o 2.1 Early work, 1989–1996
o 2.2 Early critical success, 1997–2000
o 2.3 Breakthrough, 2001–2005
o 2.4 Worldwide recognition, 2006–present
* 3 Public image
* 4 Philanthropy
* 5 Personal life
* 6 Filmography
* 7 References
* 8 External links
Early life
Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Alcobendas, Community of Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic. She was raised Roman Catholic. Throughout her childhood, Cruz lived in Alcobendas, a working-class city, although she spent "a lot" of time at her grandmother's apartment. Cruz is the oldest of three siblings she has a younger brother, Eduardo, who is a singer, and a younger sister, Mónica, who is an actress.She has said that she had a happy childhood, and Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes described Cruz's childhood as a "simple life".In 2000, Cruz stated that as a child she would throw herself on the floor and "start kicking and breaking things" when she did not get her way.Initially, Cruz had no ambition to be an actress and focused on dance having studied classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory. She received three years of Spanish ballet training and four years of theater at Cristina Rota's New York school.
When Cruz was a teenager, she began having an interest in acting after seeing the film Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. She began doing casting calls for an agent, but was rejected multiple times because the agent felt that she was too young. Cruz commented on the experience that "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 [at the audition]. 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."
Acting career
Early work, 1989–1996
In 1989, a 15 year old Cruz debuted and starred in the video clip of the song La Fuerza del Destino of the synth-pop trio Mecano. Between 1990 and 1997, Cruz hosted the Spanish TV channel Telecinco's talk show La Quinta Marcha , a program that was hosted by teenagers, aimed at a teenage audience.In 1992, Cruz made her feature film debut at 17 as the lead female role in the comedy drama art house film, Jamón, jamón. 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."[5] Charlie Ross of 60 Minutes noted that Cruz "became an overnight sensation as much for her nude scenes as for her talent". When Ross asked Cruz is 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."[10] Jamón, jamón received broadly 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 "[The film] stars actors of considerable physical appeal, most particularly Penelope 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.[5] 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.
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