Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). She was a fervent performer when she was a kid and would reenact TV commercials to entertain the family. However, she decided to focus her attention on dancing. She continued to train with a variety of highly-regarded dancers after spending nine years learning classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. She realized her passion at the age of 15, when she topped 300 contestants in an audition for an agency for talent. She was then offered roles in Spanish television and music videos. The contract resulted in a variety of roles, opening the doors to a career on the world of big screens. 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. The Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992) was her third film. In the film, she played one of the four sisters trying to win the love of a handsome deserter from the Army. The film also won numerous Goyas in Spain which is the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. The actress continued to add more films to her portfolio, growing by three or four per 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). In 1998, her fortunes changed when she was awarded the best Actress Goya for her role in the film industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998). After several more attempts in English-language films her first international hit was the film of Almodovar All About My Mother (1999) in which she played an unchaste, yet very well-meaning nun. Cruz was in hot demand in both the Atlantic as well as the west coast, since the film won many awards and praises. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001) which was her subsequent major film, follows an American chef with incredible culinary skills as well as extreme motion sickness. While living in the US,