Penelope Cruz the Hot Spanish Enchantress

Quote: “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.”

Early Life and Career

Penélope Cruz Sánchez was Penelope Cruz real name. She was born on the 28^th of April 1974 in Madrid, Spain. Daughter of Eduardo (merchant) and Encarna (hairdresser). When Penelope was still young she had this compulsive performer, re-enacting for her family's amusement but she focus her energies on dancing. Cruz made her movie debut in Laberinto griego, El (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth), then appeared briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller Framed (1992) (TV). Her resume continued to grow by three or four films each year, and soon Cruz was a leading lady of Spanish cinema. Carne trémula (1997) (Live Flesh) offered her the chance to work with renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (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 Abre los ojos (1997), a huge hit in Spain that earned eight Goyas (though none for Cruz).

Penelope was a natural performer, mimicking TV ads as soon as she could walk but, from the age of 4, it was dance that captured her imagination and dominated her life. She spent 9 years studying classical dance at Spain's National Conservatory, including three years of ballet with Angela Garrido, and a period of jazz dance with Raul Caballero. There were also four years of courses with Cristina Rota in New York City. Dropping out of secondary education early, at 15 she beat off the 300-strong competition at an agency audition and became a part-time fashion model. Pursuing drama studies in Madrid, she also appeared in music videos, one being for the popular band Mecano with whose singer, Nacho Cano, she'd have a relationship till 1996. Fortunately, with Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) (a remake of Abre los ojos (1997)) and a John Madden collaboration looming in her future, Damsel Penelope isn't likely to disappear just yet.

Currently she is filming her new movie new movie Nine, together with her co-star Daniel Day Lewis and a few important names.

Personal Life

After filming All the Pretty Horses (2000), she became a vegetarian.

It was rumored that she donated her entire The Hi-Lo Country (1998) salary to the Mother Teresa's children's sanctuary in Calcutta after spending a week there volunteering. This was later denounced by Cruz, according to a Reuters news article in 2001.

Academic curriculum: Finished 2º B.U.P. (2nd. year of secondary school). Had 4 years of dance performance with Cristina Rota, several dance courses at New York, 9 years of classic ballet at the Conservatorio Nacional and 3 years of Spanish ballet with Ángela Garrido. Also had Jazz Dance course with Raúl Caballero.

Voted the 7th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.

Best friends with actresses Goya Toledo and Salma Hayek.

Likes to keep stray cats.

Learned Italian because she wanted her part in the movie Non ti muovere (2004) really badly. It paid off and she went on to win the Italian equivalent of the Oscars for Best Actress.

Speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English.

Claims that Victoria Abril's powerful performance in Pedro Almodóvar's ¡Átame! (1990) ("Tie me up, tie me down!") determined her to become an actress.

Ranked as number 51 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

Named number 72 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

One of People magazines 50 Most Beautiful People in the world 2005.

Sister of singer Eduardo Cruz and actress Mónica Cruz.

Ranked Number 58 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.

Choosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world (Number 50) 2007.

In 2006, she was earning $2 million per year representing L'Oreal cosmetics.

Ranked Number 82 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list