Penelope Cruz: the most beautiful in the world? I can't believe how old she is now

Penelope Cruz Born in Madrid. She is the daughter of merchant Eduardo Cruz, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser. As a young girl, she studied dance at the National Conservatory of Music. At the age of fifteen, she participated in the selection of young talents, where she was noticed – she began working as a TV presenter in a program for teenagers. However, she dreamed of a bigger career and was ready to do a lot to achieve her goal. She developed her dancing skills at the Spanish Ballet and her acting skills at the Cristina Rota School in New York, and also completed a course in contemporary dance. Penelope soon decided to put everything on one card and dropped out of high school after only two years of study.

It paid off. For her first film role, she was nominated for the Goya Award, Spain's Academy Award. In the production of “Ham, Ham” (1992) directed by Fernando Trueba, she played the role of Sylvia, and her partner on the set was none other than Javier Bardem, whom she married after 18 years and two films. “I had the impression that this film was going to be something special. I knew the script was good. I knew it was something unique. Of course, I didn't really want to shoot sexy scenes, but I did it. Everyone treated me badly.” “Knowing that I was only 18 years old, I remember crying on the last day of filming and saying, ‘What if I never make a movie again?’” the actress recalled years later.

Cruz also appeared in Trueba's next film – “Belle Epoque”. Thanks to this, she was able to celebrate…the Academy Award that this production won in the category of Best Foreign Language Film (currently International). However, it was not the collaboration with Trueba that shaped her acting, but rather with another prominent Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar. The beautiful Penelope first played with him in the film “Shaking Flesh” (1997), where she met Bardem on the set.

In 1997, the artist also played one of the main roles in the thriller “Open Your Eyes”, which revolves around a rich, handsome man (Eduardo Noriega) who falls in love with his friend's girlfriend (Cruz), but is involved in an accident during which his face is smashed. distorted. Interestingly, just four years later, Cruise reprized her role as Sophia from “Open Your Eyes” in the Hollywood remake of “Amenabar.” In Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, Noriega was played by Tom Cruise himself.

The launch of Cruz's career was another artistic meeting with Almodovar, who entrusted her with the role of Rosa in his Oscar-winning film “All About My Mother” (1999). But initially, the actress was unable to take advantage of the opportunity given to her. Her roles in “Woman on Top” (2000), where she played a beautiful cook, or in “Round Horses” (2000), a Billy Bob Thornton western, where she met Matt Damon on the set, went largely unnoticed. .

The following year was equally bad for the beautiful Penelope – her three roles earned her a collective nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award. The first was the aforementioned Sophia in “Vanilla Sky,” the second was Mirtha in “Blow,” inspired by the true story of George Jung (Johnny Depp) who in the 1980s made a fortune trading illegal substances, and the last one came from the melodrama “Captain Corelli,” where Cruise's Pelagia had an affair with the main character, played by Nicolas Cage.

However, Penelope soon recovered from this painful lesson and began acting in better and better films. The thriller “Gothika”, the costume “Fanfan Tulipan” or the melodrama “Head in the Clouds” may not have been universal hits, but Cruise's roles in them were unforgettable. Just like the role she played in “Passion” (2004), a melodrama by Sergio Castellitto. Another meeting with Almodovar turned out to be a cure for all evils. In the comedy-drama “Volver” (2006), Cruz played Raymonda, the alter ego of her own: a teenage daughter and sister who claims that she is haunted by the spirit, or rather his body, of her dead mother and husband. It should be disposed of as soon as possible. The film earned her the first nominations in her career: Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award.

However, it was Woody Allen who brought her happiness. Cruz won an Oscar for playing the hysterical and beautiful if slightly crazy María Elena in his film Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). It was on the set of this film that she met Javier Bardem for the third time (three times a charm?), which led first to an affair and then to marriage.

In the star-studded musical film Nine-Nine (2009), Cruz not only showed off her acting but also her dancing and vocal skills. Interestingly, Renée Zellweger took on this role. It paid off, because the role of Carla, the lover of the main character, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, brought her more Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

Cruise rarely appears in blockbuster films. One exception to this rule was the fourth part of the film “Pirates of the Caribbean” subtitled “On Stranger Tides” (2011). We must admit that in the image of Rob Marshall she presented a great challenge to Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp.

Woody Allen's next film was not a success for Cruise. The rather mediocre “To Rome with Love” (2012) did not go unnoticed, among other things, thanks to her bold performance. A year later, we saw the Spanish beauty on our cinema screens thanks to Ridley Scott's film “The Lawyer” (2013). The men faced a big challenge: Who is more beautiful: Cameron Diaz or Penelope Cruz?

These were the star's only major performances at the beginning of the second decade of the third millennium. This is because she gave birth to two children: son Leo in 2011 and daughter Luna in 2013, which prompted her to take a break from acting for several years. But this did not prevent Esquire magazine from recognizing her as the sexiest woman in the world in 2014.