Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). As a young child she was an obsessive performer who would recreate commercials from the television to entertain of her parents. However, she chose to concentrate on dance. After nine years of classical ballet instruction at Spain's National Conservatory she was able to continue her studies under the supervision of a variety of prominent dancers. Her true calling was discovered at 15 years old after she defeated over 300 girls in an audition with an agency for talent. The agency offered her roles on Spanish music videos and TV. The contract led to a number of more performances, which opened the doors to a successful career on the world of big screens. Cruz made her film debut in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). After that, she briefly made an appearance in Framed (1992) in a Timothy Dalton thriller. Her final film was an Oscar-winning film, Belle Epoque (1992), where she played one of four sisters who compete for the love of a handsome deserter from the Army. The film also garnered many Goyas, the Spanish equivalent to the Academy Awards. Her resume continued to grow by 3-4 films per year, and eventually Cruz was a leading lady 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). The luck of her life changed dramatically in 1998, when the film-industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) was awarded the award for award for the Best Actress Goya. Cruz had a few more ventures into film in the English language, but her first big international success was the film of Almodovar All About My Mother (1999), in which she played an unchaste , but thoughtful nun. After the film was flooded with awards and accolades, Cruz became highly sought-after across both sides of the Atlantic. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001) was her next major project, is about a chef who has both remarkable culinary talents and serious motion sickness. When she was living in the US,