Penelope Cruz is a Golden Globe- and Academy Award-nominated Spanish actress. Originally a dancer, she soon moved into Spanish television, and since then she has appeared in a string of films, in Spanish, English, French and Italian.
Penelope Cruz is a Spanish actress. She gathered critical acclaim as a young actress for films such as Jam?n, jam?n, La Ni?a de tus ojos and Belle ?poque. She has also starred in several American films such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Bandidas.
Cruz has been awarded two Goyas, two European Film Awards and the Coppa Volpi for her work. She is the first Spanish actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Pedro Almod?var's 2006 Spanish film Volver.
Biography
Early life
Cruz was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna S?nchez, a hairdresser, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic. Her younger sister is Spanish dancer M?nica Cruz. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement. Initially, Cruz decided to focus on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. She received three years of Spanish Ballet training with ?ngela Garrido. She also had jazz dance training with Ra?l Caballero and studied at Cristina Rota school in Madrid. At 15, however, she followed another calling after besting more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition.
Career
Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the Lucio Villalba-directed video clip La fuerza del destino for the Spanish synthpop group Mecano. She later started a relationship with Nacho Cano, a member of the group. A TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha, she also had early exposure in S?rie Rose, a French erotic TV serial. In one episode she played the role of a blind prostitute and in another played a young noble woman pretending to be a young nobleman in a comedy of errors
