Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Name :	Penelope Cruz
Name At Birth :	Penelope Cruz Sanchez
Date of Birth :	28 April 1974
Place of Birth :	Madrid, Spain
Height :	5' 6''
Weight :	47Kg
Nickname :	Pe
Eyes :	Hazel
Hair :	Brown
Father :	Eduardo Cruz (auto mechanic)
Mother :	Encarna Cruz (hairdresser manager)
Sister :	Monica (professional flamenco dancer)
Brother :	Eduardo Jr
Education :	-Secondary Studies (dropped out) National Conservatory Madrid Spain (majored in Classical Ballet) Cristina Rota's School in Nueva York (4 years

Penelope Cruz Sanchez (born April 28, 1974), better known as Penelope Cruz, is a Spanish actress. She gathered critical acclaim as a young actress for films such as Jamón, Jamón, La Niña de tus ojos, and Belle époque. She has also starred in several American films such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is perhaps best known for her work with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, in Broken Embraces, Volver and All About My Mother.

Cruz has been awarded three Goyas, two European Film Awards, and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Goya, and a BAFTA for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is Spain's first female Oscar winner and also becomes the sixth Hispanic person to win an Oscar after José Ferrer, Rita Moreno, Benicio Del Toro (Puerto Rico), Anthony Quinn (Mexico), and fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem.

Personal life

Penelope Cruz was born on April 28, 1974 to Eduardo, a merchant and a hairdresser in Madrid, Spain. Penelope was one of three children, Brother Eduardo and Sister Monica. She was named in memory of a Joan Manuel Serrat song.

Penelope attended High School, but didn't finish, choosing to concentrate more on ballet and jazz. She had ten years of classic ballet and three years of Spanish ballet. Her studies took her to four years of Theatre at Cristina Rota's school in New York.

She broke into acting in 1992. That year, she had starring roles in Jaman Jaman and Belle Epoque. Jaman Jaman (Ham Ham is the English title) cast her as the desperately poor daughter of a village prostitute, while Belle Epoque featured her as one of four lusty daughters of a wealthy man in pre-Franco Spain. Belle Epoque was a critical smash, winning nine Goya Awards, which is essentially the Spanish equivelant of the Oscars, and it did win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The success of this film thrust Cruz into the International spotlight, proving to be a huge stepping stone towards success.

Cruz claims to have been a vegetarian since 2000. She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Cruz has also donated a considerable amount of money and time to charity; in 1997 she volunteered in Uganda for two months.

Cruz was raised as a Roman Catholic, but now feels closest to Buddhism. After appearing in Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise, they had a three-year relationship which ended in January 2004. During that time, she and Cruise were seen visiting several Church of Scientology locations in Hollywood, and there was published speculation that Cruise had convinced Cruz to join the church.

After filming Sahara in February 2005, she began dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In May 2006, they released a joint statement to People, saying that they "have decided to take time off as a couple." Later that year they announced that they were "no longer intimate and separating was the best thing to do at this time". She has been dating actor Javier Bardem since 2007; the two appeared together in Jamon, Jamon, Live Flesh and 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

In April 2007 Cruz, who was single at the time, stated that she would like to have children one day and she feels the need to adopt. "Of course I want to have kids," Cruz, told the Spanish edition of Marie Claire in its April issue. "I want to have my own kids, but also adopt. For a while I've had the feeling that my life won't be complete if I don't adopt".