Cruz, Penélope (1974– )

Spanish actor. After working in Spanish television and cinema throughout the 1990s, she achieved her first international hit with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's drama Todo sobre mi madre/All About My Mother (1999). Known for her dark, sultry beauty, she went on to star in a string of Hollywood films from 2000.

She first reached international audiences with the drama Belle époque (1992), which won the 1994 Academy Award for best foreign film. After working with Almodóvar in the drama Carne trémula/Live Flesh (1997) she won a Goya (Spain's Academy Award equivalent) for best actress in 1999 for her leading role in the comedy La niña de tus ojos/The Girl of Your Dreams (1998). She collaborated with Almóvar again for the comedy/drama Volver (2006).

She was born in Madrid, Spain, and took ballet lessons at the National Conservatory in Madrid before gaining roles on Spanish television programmes and music videos. Her breakthrough role was in the quirky comedy Jamón jamón (1992). Other Spanish films include El Laberinto griego/The Greek Labyrinth (1993) and Abre los ojos/Open Your Eyes (1997). The comedy Woman on Top (2000), her first major English-language film, was followed by several co-starring roles opposite major US stars, for example Johnny Depp in the drug-trafficking drama Blow, Nicolas Cage in the adaptation Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), and Tom Cruise in the Abre los ojos remake Vanilla Sky (2001).