Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz is a well-known Spanish actress who has been immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 2011. She has also been nominated several times for an Oscar and even won it in 2009 for best female supporting actress in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Penélope Cruz left high school to pursue a dance career. At the National Conservatory in Madrid, she studied classical ballet, among other subjects. Penélope also attended theater in New York at the Christina Rota school.

Penélope Cruz's first films were in Spanish. The film Belle Epoque was voted best non-English language film, winning an Oscar. An English version of the Spanish film Abre los Ojos was also made called Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise, in which Penélope played the same character twice. Penélope Cruz has been acting in Spanish and English films since 1992. She was also the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academic Award for Best Actress! For years, Penélope Cruz has also been modeling for the French cosmetics brand L'Oréal Paris and for shampoo. Every year she earns $2 million from this. She has also designed for Mango and modeled for Ralph Lauren. Outside of acting, Cruz is also active in fashion. She tops with other famous actresses for sexiest woman and Cruz is the face of many fashion brands.

Private life of Penélope Cruz

Penélope was engaged to Tom Cruise for a long time after the movie Vanilla Sky. It just never came to a wedding of the two. She also spent a year with actor Matthew McConaughey. In 2010, Penélope Cruz secretly married Javier Bardem (Spanish actor). Together they have a son named Leonardo who came into the world in Los Angeles on Jan. 22, 2011. Penélope is a close friend of Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar. They know each other from the many films in which Penélope has played for Pedro. Pedro also calls Penélope his muse.

Volunteering

Cruz also donates her time and money to charities. She has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent a week working for Mother Teresa in a clinic. This trip opened Cruz's eyes and after this she started a charity for homeless girls in India. Cruz donated her salary from her first Hollywood film entirely to Mother Teresa. In early 2000, Penélope also traveled nar Nepal to photograph Tibetan children for an exhibition by the Dalai Lama. This made a big impression on her and she commented, "These children break my heart. I have to restrain myself not to cry. Not entirely out of pity but also to see how hard life can be and how difficult it is to make the right choices."

Penélope Cruz fought her way to the top as a little girl and is now a globally recognized actress. In the future there will be many films in which this Spanish actress plays. Furthermore, we can always admire Penélope in advertisements of cosmetics brands and fashion brands. She is a beautiful woman who has come a long way. I hope she will only become more successful!