Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). She was a performer with a passion when she was a kid and often reenacted TV commercials for family amusement. However, she chose to focus her attention on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at the Spanish National Conservatory, she continued her education under a number of famous dancers. At 15, however, she heeded her true call when she topped more than 300 girls at an audition for a talent agency. She was offered roles on Spanish video and television. This led to a number of more roles, opening the doors to a successful career on the world of big screens. Cruz made her film debut with The Greek Labyrinth (1993). (The Greek Labyrinth). Following that she appeared in a brief scene in Framed (1992) by Timothy Dalton. Her next film, Belle Epoque (1992) was an Oscar-winning movie in which she was one of four sisters who were seeking to win the love of the handsome deserter soldier. This film won many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz became a prominent Spanish actress with her three to four films per year that she added to her resume. 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). It was a turning point for her in 1998, when the movie-industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) earned her the Best Actress Goya. Cruz had a few more forays into English-language film, but her biggest international success was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999) where she played an unchaste , but thoughtful nun. Cruz was suddenly in high demand both on the Atlantic and west coast, since the film received many awards and praises. The next major film she worked on was Woman on Top (2000) which is an American comedy about a cook with bewitching culinary skills and a serious case of motion sickness. In the US,