Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). When she was a little girl, she was an obsessive performer who would recreate commercials on television for the enjoyment of her family. However, she decided to concentrate on dancing. She continued to study with a number of well-respected dancers after she had spent 9 years studying classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. Her true calling was discovered at the age of 15, when she smashed more than 300 girls in an audition with a talent agency. The resultant contract secured her several roles in Spanish TV shows and music videos, which in turn opened the door to a successful career on the big screen. Cruz made her film debut in The Greek Labyrinth (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth), then appeared briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller Framed (1992). The Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992) was her third film. In it, she played one of the four sisters trying to win the love of a handsome Army deserter. The film received numerous Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz became a prominent Spanish actor with her average of 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). The luck of her life changed dramatically in 1998 when the film industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) brought her the title of Best Actress Goya. Cruz went on to make several more journeys into English-language films, but All About My Mother (1999) was her first major international success. She played a non-challenging yet well-meaning nun. Cruz was suddenly in high demand across the Atlantic and west coast as the film won numerous awards and honors. Woman on Top (2000) was her next major film. The film was an American comedy featuring a chef with remarkable culinary talents and the dreadful motion sickness. When she was in America,