Penelope Cruz

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Born on 04-28-1974 Nationality Spanish		Buy Penelope Cruz Contact Information Posters and Photos DVDs/Videos Autographs		Search for Penelope Cruz Mailing Address Auctions		Penelope Cruz Fun Love Match
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Biography

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born on April 28th, 1974 in Madrid, Spain. She was named for a song by Joan Manuel Serrat. She has two siblings, a younger brother, the singer Eduardo Cruz and a younger sister, also an actress, Monica Cruz. She started studying dance at an early age and subsequently left secondary school after winning a talent agency audition. She had nine years of classical ballet training at the Conservatorio Nacional in Madrid. She also had four years of dance performance at the Cristina Rota School in New York and three years of Spanish Ballet with Angela Garrido.

Although she began her career as a dancer she quickly moved into Spanish television. It wasn't long before she began making motion pictures in both Spanish and English. Her acting garnered her several awards. Her catapult into fame, however, came when she appeared in the video La Fuerza Del Destino for the musical group Mecano. She later dated a member of the group, Nacho Cano. She won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film for her role in Belle Epoque. She won another Academy Award in a Foreign Language Film in 1999 for Todo Sobre Mi Madre.

She started to be noticed by American audiences and critics in 1999 when she appeared in All The Pretty Horses and Blow in early 2001. She was catapulted to world wide fame, however, in late 2001 when she starred opposite Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky; the American re-make of Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). She had the same role in the Spanish version of the film. Cruz and Cruz began a long personal relationship upon meeting on the set of Vanilla Sky. The couple ended their romance in 2004. She has also been romantically linked with Matthew McConaughey and Adrien Brody. She has made several films since her high profile American debut, Vanilla Sky, which include, Gothika, Noel, Sahara, Cromophobia, Manolete and The Loop. Penelope speaks four languages fluently, they include: Spanish, Italian, French and English. She is very involved in charity work and donates large amounts of time and money to various organizations.

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