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Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez - born 28 April 1974, in San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid

Wise words: "There's so much more I want to do. I refuse to get to 50 and wait at home for the phone to ring. In Spain, actresses work until they are old. That's my plan."

Cruz first came to public attention in Spain in 1992 with the release of Jamón jamón (dir. Bigas Luna) and Belle Epoque (dir. Fernando Trueba).
In Spanish cinema she has proved herself in a range of roles in different genres, and her key films in her native language are: Jamón jamón, Belle Epoque, Abre los ojos / Open Your Eyes (dir. Alejandro Amenábar), La niña de tus ojos / The Girl Of Your Dreams (dir. Fernando Trueba), and of course the three films she has made with Pedro Almodóvar –Carne trémula / Live Flesh, Todo sobre mi madre / All About My Mother, and Volver.
To date she has won two Goya awards for Best Actress (for La niña de tus ojos and Volver) and also became the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Raimunda in Almodóvar’s last film.
Also not to be missed is the Italian film Non ti muovere / Don’t Move (dir. Sergio Castellito), in which she gives a truly heartbreaking performance and for which she won a David di Donatello award for Best Actress.
Forthcoming roles include a Woody Allen film and another collaboration with Almodóvar.




News | What members say | Filmography

Penelope Cruz - news / articles


  • Cruz braved injuries to film Nine - 6 October 2009
    -Penelope Cruz suffered for her art in upcoming movie-musical Nine - dangerous physical stunts left her hands bleeding.- -The actress stars alongside Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Kate Hudson in the film and was hoisted up in the air for one particularly trying scene.-


  • Cruz and Hayek triumph at ALMA Awards - 19 September 2009
    -Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek were among the big winners at the American Latino Media Arts Awards on Thursday (17Sep09).- -The Vicky Cristina Barcelona star picked up the award for best film actress at the ceremony, which celebrates the achievements of Hispanic artist


  • Cruz eyes Spanish move - 3 September 2009
    -Penelope Cruz is eyeing a move into Spanish cinema when she is too old for Hollywood - because European filmmakers are less ageist.- -The Vicky Cristina Barcelona star insists she wants to grow old gracefully and vows to steer clear of cosmetic surgery.- - But the be

Penelope Cruz - what members say


  • All About My Mother
  • All About My Mother review by Stevieb47 from poole
    Rated - 5 stars Fabulous 12 June 2005
    ... has taken refuge with a local convent where she is looked after by Sister Rosa(Penelope Cruz) but Rosa reveals that she is pregnant.....also by Lola........ Meanwhile Manu...  
  • Jamon Jamon
  • Jamon Jamon review by A customer from Rickmansworth, UK
    Rated - 2 stars Weak film 12 July 2005
    ...Was looking forward to watching Penelope Cruz in her early career but was disappointed. Pointless nudity and it was unconvincing the way she changed the object of her affect...  
  • Captain Corelli's Mandolin
  • Captain Corelli's Mandolin review by from Stotfold
    Rated - 5 stars Another of John Madden's well-crafted films 10 March 2005
    ...e love story gently evolved - its slow pace redolent of the years that elapsed. Penelope Cruz was the epitome of how a woman can suddenly become so beautiful with just a smi...  

Penelope Cruz - filmography


  • Nine (2009)
    Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis,  Marion Cotillard,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Rob Marshall
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 14 members
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  • Broken Embraces (2009)
    Starring: Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz,  Blanca Portillo
    Director: Pedro Almodovar
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    After LIVE FLESH, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, and VOLVER, director Pedro Almodovar and his muse Penelope Cruz unite for a fourth time with this drama. Here, Almodovar delves into noir style to tell a tale of a man (BAD EDUCATION'S Lluis Homar) with dual identities who tries to compartmentalize his life ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 71% from 217 members
    Due for release on 1st February 2010
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  • Elegy on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz,  Ben Kingsley
    Director: Isabel Coixet
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Charismatic professor David Kepesh glories in the pursuit of adventurous female students but never lets any woman get too close. When gorgeous Consuela Castillo enters his classroom, however, his protective veneer dissolves. Her raven-haired beauty both captivates and unsettles him. Even if Kepesh ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 59% from 4,111 members
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  • Volver on DVD (2006)
    Starring: Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz,  Carmen Maura
    Director: Pedro Almodovar
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Following the passing away of their mother in a fire, Raimunda (Penelope Cruz, VANILLA SKY) and Sole (Lola Duenas, TALK TO HER), leave their home town of La Mancha to live in Madrid. Raimunda lives with her daughter and unsupportive husband, taking on menial jobs, while Sole works in secret as a ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 36,863 members
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  • Sahara - HD DVD Version (2005)
    Starring: Matthew McConaughey,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Breck Eisner
    Certificate: Certificate: TBC
    Dirk (Matthew McConaughey) and Al (Steve Zahn) have been friends since kindergarten, having also gone through college and the Navy together. The two now work for a former admiral travelling around the world and salvaging treasures from the sea with the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 63% from 59 members
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  • Sahara on DVD (2005)
    Starring: Matthew McConaughey,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Breck Eisner
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Dirk (Matthew McConaughey) and Al (Steve Zahn) have been friends since kindergarten, having also gone through college and the Navy together. The two now work for a former admiral travelling around the world and salvaging treasures from the sea with the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 57% from 56,541 members
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  • Blow on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Johnny Depp,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Ted Demme
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 69% from 13,698 members
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  • Vanilla Sky on DVD (2001)
    Starring: Tom Cruise,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Cameron Crowe
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: £2.49
    Director Cameron Crowe (JERRY MAGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS) teams up with Tom Cruise once again in an adaptation of Alejandro Amenabar's 1997 Spanish film OPEN YOUR EYES. Cruise plays David Aames, a playboy publisher leading a seemingly charmed life. His most recent playmate is his "friend" Julie Gianni (..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 58% from 18,751 members
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  • Blow - BLU-RAY Version (2001)
    Starring: Johnny Depp,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Ted Demme
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 272 members
    Not available for rental
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  • All The Pretty Horses on DVD (2000)
    Starring: Matt Damon,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Billy Bob Thornton
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Billy Bob Thornton's ALL THE PRETTY HORSES is about John Grady Cole (Matt Damon), a young rancher growing up just after WWII. After his mother sells the family ranch, John convinces his best friend, Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas), to accompany him to Mexico, where ranching is still a big part of life...read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 55% from 1,233 member
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  • Woman On Top on DVD (1999)
    Starring: Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz,  Anne Ramsey
    Director: Fina Torres
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Director Fina Torres presents a sweet and sour love story/fairy tale with WOMAN ON TOP, the quirky story of Isabella (Penelope Cruz) a top-notch chef and glowing beauty who suffers from motion sickness. Playing up all of these characteristics, the film explores two of Cruz's love affairs: one with ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 46% from 1,729 member
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  • The Girl Of Your Dreams (1998)
    Starring: Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz,  Antonio Resines
    Director: Fernando Trueba
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Based on an allegedly true story of how during the fascist era of the 1930s the Nazi Party's head of propaganda, Josef Goebbels, fell head-over-heels in love with the reigning Spanish cinema queen when the latter visited the Ufa studios in Germany. Singer Macarena Granada is shooting a cheesy ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 57% from 450 members
    Not currently released
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  • If Only on DVD (1998)
    Starring: Douglas Henshall,  Lena Headey,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Maria Ripoll
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Almost everyone wishes they could have a second chance at love. This charming British romantic comedy, IF ONLY, dares to revel in the fantasy. Douglas Henshall plays Victor Bukowski, an unemployed man distraught over the fact that his beloved ex is about to marry another man. Magically, he is ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 51% from 1,324 member
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  • Open Your Eyes on DVD (1997)
    Starring: Eduardo Noriega,  Najwa Nimri,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Alejandro Amenabar
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Watch now: £2.49
    Handsome 25-year-old Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all--a successful career, expensive cars, a swank bachelor's pad, and an endless string of beautiful and willing women. Unfortunately, he can't get rid of his latest conquest, Nuria (Najwa Nimri) soon enough. When she crashes his birthday party, ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 68% from 6,167 members
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  • Noel on DVD
    Starring: Susan Sarandon,  Penelope Cruz,  Penelope Cruz
    Director: Chazz Palminteri
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Watch now: £2.49
    A first-rate cast comes together for this collection of intertwining tales of lonely New Yorkers reaching out to each other on Christmas Eve. Susan Sarandon plays Rose, a widowed editor who spends way too much time at the hospital bed of her Alzheimers-stricken mother. Robin Williams is the ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 53% from 3,630 members
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Penelope Cruz facts

5 most recent films

Nine - 3.5 stars
Broken Embraces - 3.5 stars
G-Force - 3.5 stars
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - 3.5 stars
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - BLU-RAY Version - 3.5 stars

5 highest-rated films

Blow - BLU-RAY Version - 3.5 stars
Volver - 3.5 stars
All About My Mother - 3.5 stars
Broken Embraces - 3.5 stars
Blow - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Manolete - 3 stars
Bandidas - 3.0 stars
Elegy - BLU-RAY Version - 3.0 stars
Don't Tempt Me - 3.5 stars
Nine - 3.5 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Penelope Cruz - 36 times - show films
Steve Zahn - 4 times - show films
Patricia Clarkson - 3 times - show films
Matthew McConaughey - 3 times - show films
Javier Bardem - 3 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Pedro Almodovar - 3 times - show films
Breck Eisner - 3 times - show films
Ted Demme - 2 times - show films
Isabel Coixet - 2 times - show films
Fernando Trueba - 2 times - show films