Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974), better known as
Penélope Cruz, is a Spanish actress who was signed by an agent at age 15. She made her acting debut at 16 on television, and her feature film debut the following year in
Jamón, jamón (1992), to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included
Open Your Eyes (1997),
The Hi-Lo Country (1999),
The Girl of Your Dreams (2000) and
Woman on Top (2000). Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in
Vanilla Sky and
Blow. Both films were released in 2001 and were commercially successful worldwide.
Penélope Cruz
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.
Penélope Cruz
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.
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
