Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sanchez who was hairdresser. She was a performer with a passion in her youth and often reenacted TV commercials to amuse the family. However, she decided to concentrate on dance. After studying ballet for 9 years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her education under a variety of prominent dancers. Her true calling was discovered at age 15 after she defeated over 300 other girls at an audition with an agency for talent. The contract she signed secured her roles in Spanish TV shows , as well as music videos. It opened the way to a promising career in the world of film. Cruz made her debut in a film in The Greek Labyrinth (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth), then appeared briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller Framed (1992). Her final film was the Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992), in which she was one of four sisters who compete for the affections of a handsome deserter from the army. The film also garnered numerous Goyas that are the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. Cruz was a well-known Spanish actor with her average of three to four film per year growing 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). In 1998, her luck changed when she was awarded a Best Actress Goya for the movie industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998). Cruz made a few more ventures into film in the English language, however, her first major international success was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999), in which she played an unchaste , but thoughtful nun. Cruz was suddenly in high demand both on the Atlantic as well as the west coast, since the film garnered numerous awards and accolades. Her next major project was Woman on Top (2000) the American comedy about a chef with a captivating culinary skill as well as a severe case motion sickness. When she was in America,