Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser. When she was a baby she was already an avid performer, performing commercials on TV for her parents' amusement. However, she chose to devote her energy to dance. She continued to train with a number of well-respected dancers following her nine years studying classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. She realized her true calling at age 15 when she beat more than 300 other girls in an audition held by an agency for talents. The resulting contract landed her roles in a variety of Spanish TV shows and music videos. This in turn paved the way for an acting career on the big screen. Cruz made her film debut in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). She also briefly made an appearance in Framed (1992), a Timothy Dalton thriller. The Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992) was her third film. In the film she played one of the four sisters that were fighting for the attention of a handsome deserter from the Army. The film was awarded many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz continued adding films to her resume, increasing by three or four per year. Soon Cruz became the most prominent 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). Her luck finally changed in 1998, when the film-industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) won her the award for Best Actress Goya. Cruz made a few more appearances in English-language films but her first big international success was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999) in which she played an unchaste , but thoughtful nun. Cruz became in high demand across both sides of the Atlantic as her film received so many awards and accolades. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001), which was her next major film, tells the story of Chefs who have incredible culinary skills as well as serious motion sickness. While in the US,