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Penélope Cruz
Age: 35
Height: 5' 4 1/2"
Birth Place: Madrid, Spain
Born: Apr. 28th, 1974
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Penélope Cruz's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo (a retailer) and Encarna (a hairdresser). As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to focus her energies on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. At 15, however, she heeded her true calling when she bested more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition. The resulting contract landed her several roles in Spanish TV shows and music videos, which in turn paved the way for a career on the big screen. Cruz made her movie debut in El laberinto griego (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth), then appeared briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller "Framed" (1992). Her third film was the Oscar-winning Belle epoque (1992), in which she played one of four sisters vying for the love of a handsome army deserter. The film also garnered several Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Academy Awards. Her resume continued to grow by three or four films each year, and soon Cruz was a leading lady of Spanish cinema. Carne trémula (1997) (Live Flesh) offered her the chance to work with renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (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 Abre los ojos (1997), a huge hit in Spain that earned eight Goyas (though none for Cruz). Her luck finally changed in 1998, when the movie-industry comedy La niña de tus ojos (1998) won her a Best Actress Goya. Cruz made a few more forays into English-language film, but her first big international hit was Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre (1999) (All About My Mother), in which she played an unchaste but well-meaning nun. As the film was showered with awards and accolades, Cruz suddenly found herself in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. Her next big project was Woman on Top (2000), an American comedy about a chef with bewitching culinary skills and a severe case of motion sickness. While in the US, she also signed up to star opposite Johnny Depp in the drug-trafficking drama Blow (2001) and opposite Matt Damon (her rumored paramour) in Billy Bob Thornton's All the Pretty Horses (2000). Cruz says she's wary of being typecast as a beautiful young damsel, but it's hard to imagine disguising her wide-eyed charms and generous nature (she once donated an entire paycheck to Mother Teresa's children's sanctuary). Fortunately, with Cameron Crowe (I)'s Vanilla Sky (2001) (a remake of Abre los ojos (1997)) and a John Madden (I) collaboration looming in her future, Damsel Penelope isn't likely to disappear just yet.
TRIVIA:
- Good friends with ex-boyfriend 'Tom Cruise' (qv). She was one of the first people to visit his new-born baby daughter Suri.
- Magician 'David Copperfield (I)' (qv) once sawed her in half using the antique "Buzz Saw" illusion that 'Orson Welles' (qv) used to saw 'Rita Hayworth' (qv), 'Marlene Dietrich' (qv) and 'Marilyn Monroe' (qv) in half.
- Best friends with actresses 'Goya Toledo' (qv) and 'Salma Hayek' (qv).
- Second Spanish performer to win an Oscar for acting. The first was 'Javier Bardem' (qv).
- Her sister 'Mónica Cruz' (qv) is now a TV star in Spain. She starred in _"Un paso adelante" (2002)_ (qv) as a young dancer with a famous aunt.
- Ranked #82 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.
- Was accompanied by 'Matthew McConaughey' (qv) to the Grammy Awards in 2005. The couple met on the set of _Sahara (2005)_ (qv).
- Academic curriculum: Finished 2º B.U.P. (2nd. year of secondary school). Had 4 years of dance performance with 'Cristina Rota' (qv), several dance courses at New York, 9 years of classic ballet at the Conservatorio Nacional and 3 years of Spanish ballet with Ángela Garrido. Also had Jazz Dance course with Raúl Caballero.
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