Penelope Cruz was working regularly on Spanish TV by her mid-teens, and dropped out of high school to pursue her career. Her first film was the 1992 Spanish sex comedy Jamón, Jamón (aka Salami, Salami, and available on video as A Tale of Ham and Passion). She went on to star in the Spanish films Belle Epoque (1993) and Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother, 1999) both of which won Oscars as Best Foreign Language Films.
Cruz is the first Spanish actress to attain enduring stardom in America, although so far her American fame is based mostly on a widely-publicized early-00s affair with her Vanilla Sky co-star, Tom Cruise. Vanilla Sky was a remake of Cruz's 1997 Spanish film Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). While dating Cruise, Cruz quit smoking at his insistence. She also sued the Australian women's magazine New Idea, which had alleged that Cruz had cheated on Cruise with an un-named Spanish actor. The matter was settled with $5,000 and an apology from the magazine.
[1] Stephen Galloway, Interview, December 2000. When asked by Galloway if she were religious, her answer was: "No, I do not call myself anything. I was raised as a Catholic, but I believe in God in my own way and I pray in my own way and I respect all kinds of philosophies. The one philosophy or religion that I find I am most close to is the Buddhist one. I think it is the one that respects the others and the one that doesn't say that this is the only way. I think happiness is the moment when -- if you've forgotten those little things -- they suddenly come back into focus for you."
Father: Eduardo Cruz (auto mechanic, d. 18-Jun-2015)
Mother: Encarna Sánchez (hairdresser)
Brother: Eduardo Cruz Jr. (b. 1985)
Sister: Mónica Cruz (b. 16-Mar-1977)
Boyfriend: Faiz Ahmad (not the poet)
Boyfriend: Nacho Cano (Spanish pop musician, together early 1990s)
Boyfriend: Tom Cruise (together 2001-04)
Boyfriend: Matthew McConaughey (together 2004)
Boyfriend: Josh Hartnett (together 2007)
Husband: Javier Bardem (together since 2007, m. Jul-2010, two children)
Son: Leonardo (b. 22-Jan-2011)
Daughter: Luna Encinas Cruz (b. 22-Jul-2013)
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 2009 for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Hollywood Walk of Fame 2011 (6834 Hollywood Blvd.)
Afghanistan World Foundation Celebrity Committee
Endorsement of Coca-Cola 2003
Endorsement of L'Oreal 2006
Wedding: Francois-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek (2009)
Risk Factors: Vegetarian, Former Smoker
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Everybody Knows (8-May-2018)
Murder on the Orient Express (3-Nov-2017)
Loving Pablo (6-Sep-2017)
The Brothers Grimsby (24-Feb-2016)
Zoolander 2 (4-Feb-2016)
The Counselor (25-Oct-2013)
I'm So Excited (8-Mar-2013)
Twice Born (13-Sep-2012)
Woody Allen: A Documentary (30-May-2012) · Herself
To Rome with Love (20-Apr-2012) · Anna
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (11-May-2011) · Angelica
Sex and the City 2 (27-May-2010) · Carmen Garcia Carrion
Nine (3-Dec-2009)
G-Force (23-Jul-2009) · Juarez [VOICE]
Broken Embraces (17-Mar-2009) · Lena
A Matador's Mistress (6-Sep-2008)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (17-May-2008)
Elegy (10-Feb-2008) · Consuela Castillo
The Good Night (25-Jan-2007) · Anna
Volver (10-Mar-2006)
Bandidas (18-Jan-2006)
Chromophobia (21-May-2005)
Sahara (24-Mar-2005) · Eva Rojas
Head in the Clouds (12-Sep-2004) · Mia
Noel (12-Sep-2004)
Don't Move (12-Mar-2004)
Gothika (13-Nov-2003) · Chloe Sava
Fanfan la tulipe (14-May-2003)
Masked and Anonymous (22-Jan-2003) · Pagan Lace
Waking Up in Reno (25-Oct-2002)
Paul McCartney: Back in the US (2002) · Herself
Vanilla Sky (10-Dec-2001) · Sofia Serrano
Don't Tempt Me (28-Nov-2001) · Carmen Ramos
America: A Tribute to Heroes (21-Sep-2001) · Herself
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (19-Apr-2001) · Pelagia
Blow (29-Mar-2001)
All the Pretty Horses (11-Dec-2000) · Alejandra
Woman on Top (24-Jun-2000)
Volavérunt (1-Oct-1999)
All About My Mother (8-Apr-1999)
The Hi Lo Country (30-Dec-1998)
The Girl of Your Dreams (13-Nov-1998)
Talk of Angels (30-Oct-1998) · Pilar
The Man with Rain in His Shoes (30-Aug-1998) · Louise
Open Your Eyes (19-Dec-1997)
Live Flesh (12-Oct-1997) · Isabel, Victor's Mother
Not Love, Just Frenzy (15-Nov-1996)
La Celestina (8-Nov-1996)
Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1996)
Todo es mentira (14-Oct-1994)
Alegre ma non troppo (15-Apr-1994)
Belle Epoque (4-Dec-1992)
Framed (27-Nov-1992)
Jamón, jamón (4-Sep-1992)
AKA Penélope Cruz Sánchez