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Actress, August 28, 1974
Penelepe Cruz was born in Madrid on August 28th 1974 to Eduardo Cruz, a car salesman, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser. While her beginnings were decidedly middle class, this star to be saw the light at the age of just 15 thanks to Pedro Almodóvar’s film “Átame”. It was right then and there she knew for sure she wanted to work with the filmmaker himself.
The road to fame took Penelepe Cruz through nine years of classical ballet training, four years of dance school in New York and three more of Spanish ballet with Ángela Garrido. She also dedicated much time to try outs and castings until she was selected as the star of a Mecano video. From there she had the chance to act on a Spanish television series which allowed her to make important contacts. Her debut on the big screen came with Jamón Jamón and with that, she was closer than ever to her dream of working with Pedro Almodóvar.
In fact, in 1997 she landed a small part in an Almodóvar film and then finally, after a long list of cinema productions was selected to star in Volver, the Almodóvar film that gave her the chance to win Best Female Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and also, in 2006, to become the first Spanish actress nominated for an Oscar. In 2007, she followed up with her second Goya, again, thanks to Volver.
Today Penelope Cruz sports a list of films longer than most movies themselves. She has won countless nominations and awards for her performances and is undoubtedly one of Spain’s leading actresses with high prestige in Hollywood as well.
Penelope Cruz came to Andalucia to film Manolete a movie in which she played the part of Manolete’s lover – an aspiring actress whom his mother and close friends detested. The filming took place in Córdoba and Cádiz with part of the shooting taking place in the bullring in Alicante, on the Costa Blanca.
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