Penélope Cruz
was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain April 28, 1974) is a Spanish
actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on
television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón (1992),
to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included Open Your Eyes(1997), The Hi-Lo
Country (1999), The Girl of Your Dreams (2000) and Woman on Top(2000).
Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in the 2001 films Vanilla Sky and Blow.
She has since built a successful career, appearing in
films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy Waking Up in
Reno (2002), the thriller Gothika (2003),
the Christmas movie Noel (2004), and the action adventure Sahara (2005). She has received critical
acclaim for her roles in Volver (2006) and Nine (2009)
receiving Golden Globe andAcademy Award nominations
for each. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actress in 2008 for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She was the
first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award and the first
Spanish actress to receive a star at theHollywood Walk of Fame.
Cruz has modeled for companies such
as Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal.
Penélope and her younger sister Mónica Cruz have
designed items for Mango. She has donated both her time and money to charities.
Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one
week working for Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The
Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission. A wax sculpture of Cruz
will be placed in a premier spot in the Grevin Wax
Museum in Paris
.jpg)
.jpg)
