Penélope Cruz
Highest Rated: 98% All About My Mother (1999)
Lowest Rated: 11% Waking Up in Reno (2002)
Birthday: Apr 28, 1974
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Academy Award-winning Spanish actress Penelope Cruz became best known for her roles in "Vanilla Sky" (2001), "Volver" (2006), "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008), and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011). Cruz, who was born Penelope Cruz Sanchez, grew up in the town of Alcobendas, Madrid. A lively and extroverted young girl, Cruz loved to reenact commercials for her family, and dreamt of one day becoming an actress. Her dreams of acting stardom took a bit of a detour, however, when she began studying classical ballet at a very young age. Cruz studied dance for 9 years, but by her mid-teens her love of film grew so strong that she decided to give up on ballet and embark on an acting career. Although she never had any formal acting training, Cruz did have an "it factor" that casting and talent agents immediately took notice of. When she was 15, Cruz beat out over 300 girls during an audition to win a spot with a Spanish talent agency. From there, she began appearing in Spanish TV shows and music videos, thus slowly learning the chops she needed to be in front of a camera. Then in 1992, Cruz landed her first big break with a supporting role in the romance-drama "Jamon, Jamon" (1992). Also appearing in the film was a young actor and Cruz's future husband, Javier Bardem. "Jamon, Jamon" was a big hit in Spain, thus making Cruz a star in her native country. As a result, more Spanish film roles followed, including "The Rebel" (1993), "Brujas" (1996), and "Live Flesh" (1997). In 1998 Cruz appeared in her first American film, a western called "The Hi-Lo Country" (1998). That film, however, was unsuccessful at the box office. Despite the failure of "The Hi-Lo Country," by the early 2000s Cruz was becoming more of a presence in mainstream American films. She appeared in critically-acclaimed films like "All the Pretty Horses" (2000), "Blow" (2001), and "Vanilla Sky" (2001), the latter of which also starred her then-boyfriend Tom Cruise (the couple split in 2004). By the mid-2000s, Cruz's acting career was gaining steam both in her native Spain as well as in America. In 2007 she earned her first Academy Award nomination for her role in director Pedro Almodóvar's comedy-drama "Volver" (2006), and two years later, went on to earn her first Oscar for her supporting role in Woody Allen's romantic comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Cruz earned another Oscar nomination for her supporting role in 2009's "Nine," making it her third nomination in four years. If the 2000s were a breakout decade for Penelope Cruz, the 2010s would prove to be just as good. In 2012 she re-teamed with Woody Allen to appear in his music comedy "To Rome with Love" (2012), and would also go on to appear in the broad comedies "Zoolander 2" (2016) and "The Brothers Grimsby" (2016). Then in 2018 Cruz made her American TV debut by playing fashion mogul Donatella Versace on "American Crime Story" (FX, 2016- ). The series, which was about the assassination of the iconic 90s fashion designer Gianni Versace, was critically acclaimed, while earning Cruz an Emmy nomination. After her acclaimed television performance, Cruz returned to film acting in 2019 with a part in Pedro Almodóvar's "Pain and Glory" (2019). The film, which was Cruz's sixth collaboration with the director, was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.
Photos
Penélope Cruz
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
87% |
|
High & Low - John Galliano | Self | $66.5K | 2023 |
73% |
|
Ferrari | Laura Ferrari (Character) | $18.5M | 2023 |
85% |
|
L'immensità | Clara (Character) | $102.5K | 2022 |
24% |
|
The 355 | Graciela Rivera (Character) | $14.6M | 2022 |
82% |
|
On the Fringe | Unknown (Character) | - | 2022 |
96% |
|
Official Competition |
Lola Cuevas (Character), Executive Producer |
- | 2021 |
96% |
|
Parallel Mothers | Janis (Character) | $2.3M | 2021 |
40% |
|
Wasp Network | Olga Salanueva (Character) | - | 2019 |
96% |
|
Pain and Glory | Jacinta (Character) | $4.6M | 2019 |
78% |
|
Everybody Knows | Laura (Character) | $2.6M | 2018 |
33% |
|
Loving Pablo | Virginia Vallejo (Character) | $16.6K | 2017 |
60% |
|
Murder on the Orient Express | Pilar Estravados (Character) | $101.5M | 2017 |
30% |
|
The Queen of Spain |
Macarena Granada (Character), Producer |
- | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Soy Unoentrecienmil |
Self, Director, Writer |
- | 2016 |
36% |
|
The Brothers Grimsby | Rhonda George (Character) | $6.9M | 2016 |
22% |
|
Zoolander No. 2 | Valentina (Character) | $28.8M | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Brothers Grimsby With Hilarious Outtakes | Kate (Character) | - | 2016 |
25% |
|
Ma ma |
Magda (Character), Producer |
$46.5K | 2015 |
34% |
|
The Counselor | Laura (Character) | $16.9M | 2013 |
48% |
|
I'm So Excited! | Jessica (Character) | $1.4M | 2013 |
17% |
|
Twice Born | Gemma (Character) | $14.9K | 2012 |
47% |
|
To Rome With Love | Anna (Character) | $16.7M | 2012 |
91% |
|
Woody Allen: A Documentary | Self | - | 2012 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Looking Back on Love: Making Black and White America | Unknown (Character) | - | 2011 |
33% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | Angelica (Character) | $241.1M | 2011 |
15% |
|
Sex and the City 2 | Carmen Garcia Carrion (Character) | $95.3M | 2010 |
39% |
|
Nine | Carla Albanese (Character) | $19.7M | 2009 |
82% |
|
Broken Embraces | Lena (Character) | $5.0M | 2009 |
22% |
|
G-Force | Juarez (Voice) | $119.4M | 2009 |
No Score Yet |
|
A Matador's Mistress | Lupe Sino (Character) | - | 2008 |
80% |
|
Vicky Cristina Barcelona | María Elena (Character) | $23.2M | 2008 |
75% |
|
Elegy | Consuela Castilo (Character) | $3.6M | 2008 |
30% |
|
The Good Night |
Anna/ |
$22.2K | 2007 |
91% |
|
Volver | Raimunda (Character) | $12.9M | 2006 |
56% |
|
Bandidas | Maria Alvarez (Character) | - | 2006 |
No Score Yet |
|
Viva Pedro | Unknown (Character) | - | 2006 |
38% |
|
Sahara | Eva Rojas (Character) | $68.6M | 2005 |
31% |
|
Chromophobia | Unknown (Character) | - | 2005 |
46% |
|
Don't Move | Italia (Character) | - | 2004 |
28% |
|
Noel | Nina (Character) | - | 2004 |
17% |
|
Head in the Clouds | Mia (Character) | $398.2K | 2004 |
25% |
|
Masked and Anonymous | Pagan Lace (Character) | $533.3K | 2003 |
15% |
|
Gothika | Chloe Sava (Character) | $59.6M | 2003 |
14% |
|
Fanfan la Tulipe | Adeline La Franchise (Character) | $28.4K | 2003 |
11% |
|
Waking Up in Reno | Brenda (Spanish Woman) (Character) | $261.6K | 2002 |
38% |
|
No News From God | Carmen Ramos (Character) | $77.3K | 2001 |
42% |
|
Vanilla Sky | Sofia Serrano (Character) | $100.6M | 2001 |
28% |
|
Captain Corelli's Mandolin | Pelagia (Character) | $25.5M | 2001 |
56% |
|
Blow | Mirtha Jung (Character) | $53.1M | 2001 |
32% |
|
All the Pretty Horses | Alejandra (Character) | $15.5M | 2000 |
35% |
|
Woman on Top | Isabella Oliveira (Character) | $5.0M | 2000 |
98% |
|
All About My Mother | Rosa (Character) | $8.3M | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
Volaverunt | Pepita Tudó (Character) | - | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Girl of Your Dreams | Macarena Granada (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet |
|
Don Juan | Mathurine (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet |
|
Talk of Angels | Pilar (Character) | $15.5K | 1998 |
29% |
|
Twice Upon a Yesterday | Louise (Character) | $258.5K | 1998 |
54% |
|
The Hi-Lo Country | Josepha O'Neil (Character) | $163.8K | 1998 |
80% |
|
Live Flesh | Isabel (Character) | - | 1997 |
87% |
|
Open Your Eyes | Sofia (Character) | $368.2K | 1997 |
No Score Yet |
|
Celestina | Melibea (Character) | - | 1997 |
No Score Yet |
|
Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health | Diana Balaguer joven (Character) | - | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | El amor perjudica seriamente la salud | Diana Balaguer joven (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | La Celestina | Melibea (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet |
|
Not Love, Just Frenzy | Unknown (Character) | $6.1K | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Brujas | Patricia (Character) | - | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Entre rojas | Unknown (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | It's All Lies | Lucía (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alegre ma non troppo | Salomé (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Rebel | Enza (Character) | - | 1993 |
69% |
|
Jamon Jamon | Silvia (Character) | $14.8K | 1992 |
95% |
|
Belle Epoque | Luz (Character) | $943.5K | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Framed | Lola Del Moreno (Character) | - | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Softly From Paris VI | Unknown (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bigas x Bigas | Self | - |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | 61% | Late Night With Seth Meyers | Guest | 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Variety Studio: Actors on Actors | Guest | 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Graham Norton Show | Guest | 2016 2022 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Guest | 2018 2022 |
No Score Yet | 19% | The Late Late Show With James Corden | Guest | 2022 |
No Score Yet | 44% | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2016 2021 |
84% | 90% | American Crime Story | Donatella Versace (Character) | 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen | Guest | 2016 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Celebrated | Self | 2015 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Late Night With Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2012 |
No Score Yet | 41% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Guest | 2011 |
31% | No Score Yet | The Jay Leno Show | Guest | 2009 |