Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). As a child she was an obsessed performer, and would reenact commercials on TV for the entertainment of her parents. However, she chose to concentrate on dance. After pursuing classical ballet for nine years in the Spanish National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of famous dancers. She realized what she wanted to do at the age of 15 when she smashed more than 300 other girls in an audition with an agency for talents. The contract she signed secured her roles on Spanish television shows as well as music videos. It opened the possibility of a lucrative career on the big screen. Cruz made her debut film in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). She also briefly made an appearance in Framed (1992) the Timothy Dalton thriller. Her third film, Belle Epoque (1992), was an Oscar-winning production where she played one of four sisters who were trying to win the affection of the handsome deserter soldier. The film was awarded many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz was a well-known Spanish actor with her three- to four films per year increasing resume. Live Flesh (1997) (Live Flesh) offered her the chance to work with renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodovar (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 Open Your Eyes (1997), a huge hit in Spain that earned eight Goyas (though none for Cruz). In 1998, her fortunes changed when she was awarded the best Actress Goya for the movie industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998). After a few more attempts at English-language film her first international success was in Almodovar's All About My Mother (1999) in which she played the unchaste and very well-meaning nun. Cruz found herself highly sought-after on both sides of the Atlantic as her film received many awards and praises. The American comedy Woman on Top (2001) was her next major film, follows the chef who is able to combine extraordinary culinary abilities and extremely motion sickness. When she was in the US,