Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was the daughter of Eduardo Cruz (a retailer) and Encarna Sanchez (a hairdresser). As a toddler, she was already a voracious performer, who would reenact TV commercials for her family's amusement. However, she chose to focus her energies on dance. After nine years of ballet training at Spain's National Conservatory she was able to continue her dance training under the direction by a range of well-known dancers. When she was 15 she discovered her true destiny when she outclassed more than 300 other girls in a talent agency audition. She was offered roles in Spanish video and television. The contract led to a number of more roles, and opened the doors to a career in the big screen. Cruz made her film debut in 1993's The Greek Labyrinth (The Greek Labyrinth). After that, she briefly made an appearance in Framed (1992), a Timothy Dalton thriller. The Oscar-winning Belle Epoque (1992) was her third film. In the film she played one of four sisters that were seeking the affection of a handsome Army deserter. This film won many Goyas, Spanish equivalent of Academy Awards. Cruz became a renowned Spanish actress thanks to her average of 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). Her luck turned around in 1998, when her film-industry comedy La Nina De Tus Ojos (1998) earned her a Best Actress Goya. Cruz had a few more appearances in English-language films but her biggest international success was the film of Almodovar All About My Mother (1999) where she played a sexy but thoughtful nun. The film was flooded with accolades and awards Cruz quickly found herself highly sought-after across both sides of the Atlantic. Woman on Top (2000) was her next film. It was an American comedy about a chef with extraordinary culinary abilities and extreme motion sickness. While in the US,