Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). When she was a toddler she was an obsessive performer, and would reenact commercials from the television to entertain of her parents. However, she decided to focus her efforts on dancing. She continued to study alongside a group of highly respected dancers after spending nine years studying classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. When she turned 15 she realized her real destiny when she outclassed more than 300 other girls at an audition by a talent agency. The contract that resulted in her being signed secured her several roles in Spanish television shows and music videos. This led to a future career on the screen. Cruz made her film debut in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). After that, she briefly appeared in Framed (1992) which was a Timothy Dalton thriller. The Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992) was her third film. In it she played one of four sisters trying to win the love of a handsome deserter from the Army. The film was awarded many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. She continued to add more films to her list of credits, growing by three or four per year. Soon Cruz was the 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). In 1998, her luck changed when she won a best Actress Goya for the industry-related movie comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998). Cruz also made a few appearances in English-language films however, her first major international hit was Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999) in which she played an unchaste , but very well-meaning nun. Cruz became very popular on both sides of the Atlantic because her film was awarded numerous awards and accolades. The next major film she worked on was Woman on Top (2000) which is an American comedy about a cook who is enchanting in her cooking skills and a serious case of motion sickness. While in America,