|
Penélope
Cruz Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Early life
Cruz was born in San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain. Her
parents are Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a
hairdresser. [1]
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. She received three years of Spanish Ballet training with
Ángela Garrido. She also had jazz dance training with Raúl Caballero
and she studied at Cristina Rota (mother of Juan Diego Botto) school in Madrid.
She speaks Spanish, English, French, and Italian fluently.
Career
Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the video clip La
fuerza del destino for the Spanish synthpop
group Mecano.
She later started a relationship with Nacho
Cano, a member of the group. [2]
She was a TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta
Marcha [1]. She also had early exposure in Série Rose,
a French erotic TV serial[3]
in which she played the role of a blind prostitute.
Cruz's first major films were Jamón, jamón and Belle Epoque, a film which won an Academy Award for
Foreign Language Film.
In 1997, she starred as Sofía Pangia, alongside Eduardo Noriega in Abre
los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, and in 2000 she
appeared with Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses. In
1999, she appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre, which won an
Academy Award for Foreign Language Film.
In early 2001, she appeared in the film Vanilla
Sky, the Hollywood remake of Abre
los ojos. She played the same part in both films.
In 2006, Cruz received highly favorable reviews for
her performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver.
She won a Best Actress ensemble award at the Cannes Film Festival and has been
nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA
Award. She is the first Spanish Actress to be nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.[4]
Personal
life
Cruz has a younger brother, Eduardo, a singer, and a
younger sister Mónica,
who closely resembles her: a similarity exploited for some Spanish TV
ads. In the 2000s, Mónica left her dancing career and achieved note on
her own in the youth-oriented TV series Un Paso Adelante.
Cruz claims to be a vegetarian
since 2000, though this fact is disputed [5].
She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Cruz
has also donated a considerable amount of money and time to charity. In
1997 she volunteered in Uganda for two months.
After appearing in 2001 in the film Vanilla
Sky with Tom Cruise, they had a three-year relationship.
They split up in January 2004.
After filming Sahara in February 2005, she
started dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In May 2006, they
released a joint statement to People,
saying that they "have decided to take time off as a couple. Later that
year they announced that they were "no longer intimate and separating
was the best thing to do at this time." [6]
Cruz is a close friend of actress Salma
Hayek. The two co-starred in the 2006 film, Bandidas.
[8]
In April, 2007 Cruz, who is now
single, stated that she would like
to have children one day and she feels the need to adopt. "Of course I
want to have kids," Cruz, 32, tells the Spanish edition of Marie Claire
in its April issue. "I want to have my own kids, but also adopt. For a
while I've had the feeling that my life won't be complete if I don't
adopt." [9]
Penelope Cruz Selected Filmography
Penelope Cruz Awards and Nominations
Academy Awards
- 2007 Nominated Academy
Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for: Volver
(2006)
ALMA Awards
BAFTA Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Cannes Film Festival - To the female ensemble
cast.
- 2006 Won Best Actress for: Volver
(2006)award shared with Carmen Maura; Lola Dueñas; Blanca Portillo;
Yohana Cobo; Chus Lampreave
David di Donatello Awards
- 2004 Won David Best Actress (Migliore Attrice Protagonista)
for: Non ti muovere (2004)
European Film Awards
- 1999 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress for: La
Niña de tus ojos (1998)
- 2001 Nominated Audience Award Best Actress for: Captain
Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
- 2003 Nominated Audience Award Best Actress for: Fanfan
la tulipe (2003)
- 2004 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress for: Non
ti muovere (2004)
- 2004 Won Audience Award Best Actress for: Non ti muovere
(2004)
- 2006 Won European Film Award Best Actress for: Volver
(2006)
Fotogramas de Plata
- 1999 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor
Actriz de Cine)for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
- 2007 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Movie Actress (Mejor
Actriz de Cine)for: Volver (2006)
Golden Globe Awards
- Nominated Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal)
for: Jamón, jamón (1992)
- 1999 Won Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal)
for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
- 2005 Nominated Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz
Principal) for: Non ti muovere (2004)
- 2007 Won Goya Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) for: Volver
(2006)
Imagen Foundation Awards
- 2003 - Creative Achievement Award
- 2002 Nominated MTV Movie Award Breakthrough Female
Performance for: Blow (2001)Ondas Awards
- 1993 Won Film Award Best Acting (Mejor Interpretación) Tied
with Javier Bardem (No award category given
officially).
- 1995 Won Best Actress for: Todo es mentira (1994)ds
- 1993 Nominated Newcomer Award for: Jamón, jamón
(1992)
- 1993 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Supporting
Performance (Secundario Cine) for: Belle epoque (1992)
- 1998 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film:
Performance in a Minor Role (Reparto Cine) for: Carne trémula
(1997)
- 1999 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Lead
Performance (Protagonista Cine) for: La Niña de tus ojos (1998)
- 2007 Won Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Lead
Performance (Protagonista Cine) for: Volver
(2007)
References
External links
|
