Penelope Cruz Biography

Penélope Cruz Sánchez, nicknamed simply Pe. Her parents, Eduardo (a retailer) and Encarna (a hairdresser), named her after a song by Joan Manuel Serrat, was born April 28, 1974) in Madrid, Spain. She is a Spanish actress, Cruz was a dancer as a child and young teen. Academic curriculum: Finished 2º B.U.P. (2nd. year of secondary school). At 15, however, she dropped school after she bested more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition.

Had 9 years of classic ballet at the Conservatorio Nacional (aka - National Conservatory of Madrid) 4 years of dance performance with several dance courses in Cristina Rota School in New York, (Cristina Rota also has a school in Madrid), and 3 years of Spanish Ballet with Ángela Garrido. She also had Jazz Dance course with Raúl Caballero.

She first achieved fame when she appeared in the video clip La fuerza del destino for the Spanish synth-pop group Mecano. She then started a relationship with Nacho Cano, a member of the group, which lasted for several years.

She was a TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha, in collaboration with Jesús Vázquez.

Cruz's first major films were Jamón, Jamón and the more widely known (in the US) La Belle Époque (film), a film which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film.

She also 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 began a three-year relationship with Tom Cruise. The relationship started on the set of the film Vanilla Sky in which they appeared together. She is now regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Her younger sister Mónica Cruz resembles her a lot. This similarity has been used in Spanish TV ads. In the 2000s, Mónica has left her dancing career and achieved fame on her own in the youth-oriented TV series Un Paso Adelante.

PENELOPE CRUZ PICTURES

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PENELOPE CRUZ BIOGRAPHY