Penelope Cruz

At 49 years old, Penelope Cruz has this physical status:

Career

Cruz, a 15-year-old girl, made her acting debut in 1989 in a music video for Mecano's song "La Fuerza del Destino." She hosted La Quinta Marcha, a youth-focused television station in Costa Rica, from 1990 to 1991, a program targeted at a teenage audience. She appeared in the "Elle et lui" episode of an erotic French television series called Série, where she appeared nude. Cruz made her debut as the lead female role in the comedy drama art house film Jamón, jamón. Silvia, a young woman who is expecting her first child with a man whose mother does not approve of the marriage and attempts to sabotage it by bribing Javier Bardem's character to seduce her, was depicted in the film. Cruz appeared topless in the film, and the person became "a significant sex symbol," according to People magazine. Cruz said in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News in 1999 that "it was a great job but...I wasn't really up for nudity." [...] But I have no regrets because I wanted to start working and it changed my life." Cruz "became an overnight sensation as well for her nude scenes as well as her talent," Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes said. Cruz replied, "I just knew I had to do the complete opposite" when Rose asked Cruz if she was worried about how she would be perceived after her role in the film. Jamón, jamón, received rave reviews, with Deseret News' Chris Hicks describing Cruz's portrayal of Silvia as "enchanting." "It stars actors with definite physical appeal, most particularly Penélope Cruz as Silvia," Roger Ebert, a Chicago Sun-Times film critic, wrote. Cruz was nominated for a Spanish Actor Newcomer Award and a Goya Award for Best Actress for her work. She debuted in Belle Époque as the virginal Luz in the Academy Award-winning Belle Époque the previous year. Cruz's appearance as Luz demonstrated that she was versatile, according to a people magazine.

Cruz appeared in ten Spanish and Italian films from 1993 to 1996. At 20, she went to live in New York for two years to learn ballet and English between films. She remembers learning English "kind of late," prior to knowing only the dialogue she had gathered for the role and the expression "How are you?" "Thank you" and "Thank you."

Cruz made his debut in the Spanish comedy film Love Can Really Damage Your Wellbeing in 1997. Diana, a fan of Beatles band member John Lennon, is depicted by the actress, who is unable to meet him. Diana re-unites with an acquaintance under difficult circumstances years later, after many failed relationships. She appeared in the first scene of Pedro Almodóvar's Live Flesh as a prostitute who gives birth on a bus and in Et hjrne af paradis (A Corner of Paradise) as Do'a Helena. "Abre Los Ojos"/ Open Your Eyes, Cruz's last appearance in 1997 was the Amenabar-directed Spanish sci-fi drama "Abre Los Ojos." She plays Sofia, Eduardo Noriega's lead character's love interest. Open Your Eyes received rave reviews, and was later remade by US director Cameron Crowe as "Vanilla Sky" (who portrayed Cruz in the same way and Tom Cruise in Noriega's role), but "Open Your Eyes" was not commercially successful. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal wrote in his September 2002 review that Cruz "has been getting some really bad reviews for her latest American work, but I personally think she's a more versatile, charming, and always believable actress." [...] Cruz walks a room in a greenish glow in particular, which is right out of Hitchcock's photograph [Vertigo].

In Stephen Frears' western film The Hi-Lo Country, Cruz appeared in her first American film as Billy Crudup's consolation prize Mexican girlfriend. Cruz said she had trouble understanding people speaking English when filming The Hi-Lo Country. The film was both artistic and commercially dissatisfaction. In his review of Penélope Cruz [the Spanish actress in an ironic casting twist]" on the film, "in an ironic casting twist, the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz [...] is much more likable as Josepha [than in her previous roles]" -- Kevin Lally of the Film Journal International. She was nominated for an ALMA Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.

Cruz appeared in Don Juan and The Girl of Your Dreams, also in 1998. Cruz portrayed Macarena Granada, a singer who is in an on-and-off relationship with Antonio Resines' character Blas in The Girl of Your Dreams (La nia de tus ojos). They are part of a Francoist film troupe that flies from Spain during the Spanish Civil War to Nazi Germany for a joint effort with UFA. Cruz's role in the film was lauded by film critics, with Jonathan Holloland of Variety magazine writing, "If confirmation is still needed that Cruz is an actress first and a pretty face second," the actress says. "Cruz herself is the inevitable focal point of the film," a writer for Film4 said, though she noted that overall, the film "looks fantastic." Cruz's role as Macarena has been described as her "most important job to date." Cruz was nominated for a European Film Award and the Spanish Actors' Union Award for her performance, as well as a Goya Award and the Spanish Actors' Union Award. Cruz appeared in All About My Mother again in 1999, as the play Sister Mara Rosa Sanz, a pregnant nun with AIDS. The film received critical feedback and was globally successful, grossing over $67 million, but internationally it did better at the box office than domestically.

Isabelle, a world-class chef who suffered from motion sickness since birth, was one of the first American lead roles. Both Cruz and her co-star Harold Perrineau's performance were "burst off the screen," according to Lisa Nesselson of Variety magazine, who also noted that Cruz has a charming accent. "Cruz is wonderfully ditzy as the innocent abroad," BBC News film critic Jane Crowther said, but "it's Harold Perrineau Jr. who pockets the film." "Cruz is stunning in the role, innocent and fragile but with a mature grace and tenacious strength, all the while sizzling with unchecked sensuality," Annlee Ellingson of Box Office magazine said. Alejandra Villarreal, Matt Damon's love interest in Billy Bob Thornton's film adaptation of the western bestselling book All the Pretty Horses, appeared in 2000. Susan Stark of The Detroit News said in the film Thornton, she was able to lead Damon, Henry Thomas, and Cruz to "their most impressive performances in a major film to date." However, Bob Longigo of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was less ecstatic about Cruz's and Damon's appearance, saying that their "resulting onscreen chemistry would barely warm a can of beans."

Cruz appeared in the feature films Vanilla Sky and Blow in 2001, marking a turning point in the year. Sofia Serrano, Tom Cruise's love interest, was played in Vanilla Sky, Cameron Crowe's recreation of Open Your Eyes. The film received mixed reviews, but it grossed $200 million worldwide. Cruz's presence was well received by critics, with BBC film commentator Brandon Graydon remarking that she "is an enchanting screen presence" and film journalist Ethan Alter of the Film Journal International noting that Cruz and her co-star Cruise were "able to create some authentic chemistry." Blow, Bruce Porter's 1993 film Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medelln Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All. Mirtha Jung, Johnny Depp's wife, had a supporting role in her role. Mixed reviews were given to the film, but it earned $80 million worldwide. Nina Willdorf of the Boston Phoenix described Cruz as "multitalented" and Mark Salvo of The Austin Chronicle wrote, "I may be one of the few male holdouts to join the Cruz-Rules camp, but her tour de force appearance here sucks you right in."

In 2001, she appeared in Don't Tempt Me, portraying Carmen Ramos. There were critical comments about the film. "Unfortunately, portraying Cruz as a cruel child is a hilarious [idea]," Jeff Vice of the Deseret News, and Michael Miller of the Village Voice said that "as Satan's supporter Carmen doesn't hold a candle to her cocaine-huffing enabler in Blow." Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a film version of the novel of the same name, was Cruz's last film in 2001. Pelagia is a female character in the film Pelagia, who falls in love with another man when her fiancé is fighting in the Second World War. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was not well received by critics, but it did earn $62 million around the world. In 2002, she appeared in Waking Up in Reno for a small part. It had poor feedback and was a box office failure, grossing $267,000 globally. Cruz starred in the horror film Gothika as Chloe Sava, a patient in a mental hospital, for the next year. Cruz "adds a serviceably malevolent edge to Chloe's apparent madness," Variety's David Rooney wrote. Cruz's appearance in Fanfan la Tulipe, as well as 2003, was not well received, according to Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian that Cruz "deserves a special Cannes Razzie for a performance of purest teak."

In 2004, Cruz appeared in the Christmas film Noel as Nina, Paul Walker's girlfriend and Mia in the romantic drama Head in the Clouds, which was set in the 1930s. At the box office, Head in the Clouds did poorly. Bruce Birkland of Jam, Head in the Clouds! "The story feels forced and the performances are dreary," Canoe said, with the notable exception of Cruz, who appears to be in a different film from the remainder of the cast. The Washington Post's Desson Thompson was more critical; he said that "Cruz (not the world's best actress) can't even perform without looking fake"; his argument regarding the character's "pronounced limp" was more critical. Don't Move, Sergio Castellitto's melodrama Don't Move. Cruz, who learned Italian for the role, received the David di Donatello Award for her role. In 2004, she was named Best Actress for the film at the European Film Award for Best Actress. Cruz appeared in the action adventure Sahara in 2005 as Dr. Eva Rojas. She earned $1.6 million for her service work. The film earned $110 million worldwide but did not recover its $160 million budget. The film was dubbed "one of the world's most popular flops" by Moviefone, who ranked it at 24 on its list of "The Most Popular Box-Office Turkeys of All Time" in 2007. Cruz, according to Lori Hoffman of the Atlantic City Weekly, she and her partner [acting] skills on cruise control as Dr Eva Rojas and James Berardnelli of ReelViews described Cruz's appearance as a "black hole" and "lacks screen presence." Cruz appeared in Chromophobia in 2005 and again in 2005, and the following year, he was released in Chromophobia. Cruz's character, according to Mathew Turner of View London, is "actually more interesting than the main storyline," Tim Evan's review of Sky Movies said, "The Cruz/Ifans storyline—featuring the only two remotely sympathetic characters—never fully aligns with the main plot." Don't Move Italia, her last film in 2005, was Don't Move playing Italia. Cruz "goes all out" with her appearance, according to Eric Harrison of the Houston Chronicle, and Empire magazine's Patrick Peters of Empire magazine said that Cruz, the film's producer, who also appears in the film, was able to give a "sensitive performance" from Cruz.

Cruz appeared in the 2006 Western comedy film "Bandidas" with her good friend Salma Hayek. Cruz and her co-star Salma Hayek were the "lusty dream team" in the film, according to Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic, who called them the "marketing fantasy" in the film. Cruz received lauded praise for her work as Raimunda, a working-class woman compelled to go to great lengths to shield her 14-year-old daughter Paula in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, 2006. A.O. "Ms. Cruz inscribes her name near the top of any credible list of present-day flesh-and-blood screen goddesses," Scott of The New York Times commented, "in no small part because she appears to be earthy, unpretentious, and a little vulgar without losing a single ounce of her natural beauty." "Cruz, who has stated that she's rarely allowed to be anything more than beautiful in Hollywood, instills her with an enthralling and a strong sense of character," Carina Chocano of The Los Angeles Times wrote. She received five of her co-stars, a Goya Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, as well as a receiving a Goya Award and the European Film Award. She was the first and only Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Cruz appeared in Manolete, a biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodrez Sánchez's playing "Lupe" in 2007. Cruz had "clearly been cast to portray the kind of red-hot drama queen she's pulled off infinitely better in Pedro Almodovar's films," the film was critically panned. Manolete (originally shot in 2005) was released on demand on June 7th, 2011 under the name A Matador's Mistress after being shelved since 2007. Anna and Melody appeared in The Good Night, as two characters. In the film "professionally mines the contrast between chic, compliant, white-clad Anna and funky, street-wise Melody, who treats [Martin Freeman's character] Gary like the world-class drag he is."

Consuela Castillo, a young female role in Isabel Coixet's film Elegy, which was based on Ben Kingsley's book The Dying Animal, starred Cruz in 2008. Cruz's appearance was described by Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter as "outstanding in an otherwise lame male fantasy [film]]." Cruz appeared in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as Mara Elena, a mentally fragile woman, in the same year, which was met with critical acclaim. "But Penélope Cruz, who has never been better in an American film," Mick LaSalle wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle. Suddenly, and for the first time, her stardom makes sense. Cruz, José Antonio's gifted and neurotic ex-wife, is on fire, hysterically funny, abandoned, poignant, and poignant, with a show full of shading and wide range. She's both fun and strong as Anna Magnani, as well as pretty. Cruz just needs someone to turn her loose." "Cruz, playing Maria Elena, the vivacious and vivacious ex-wife of a moody Picasso-ish artist's more hefty film, looks as if she's wandered in from a more substantial film entirely," Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian singled her out for praise, writing: "Cruz, playing Maria Elena, the passionate and tumultuous ex-wife of a moody Picasso-ish artist's more a's ed This isn't to say that she gets more laughs or even laughs out of the film, but she does get off with the movie." Cruz received a Goya Award and her first Academy Award as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also been named in Golden Globe and SAG awards. Cruz was the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academy Award and the sixth Hispanic person to be honoured.

Cruz's next film was the kid-friendly G-Force, portraying a guinea pig spy named Juarez. G-Force was a commercial success, grossing over $290 million around the world. Lena appeared in the film Broken Embraces as Lena again in 2009. Cruz "doesn't coast on her beauty in Broken Embraces," Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com said in her review of the film, "I have the kind of role that can be difficult to flesh out." Cruz received awards from the Satellite Awards and European Film Awards for her role in Broken Embraces. Cruz's last film, which was the film version of the musical Nine, starring Carla Albanese, the lead character's mistress. Cruz first tried to audition for the role of Claudia, the film's star, according to Variety, which then went to Nicole Kidman. Cruz said she trained for three months for the film's dance routine. Claudia Puig of USA Today reported that although Cruz "does a steamy song and dance," her "acting is strangely caricatured." At the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards, Cruz's appearance as Carla was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Sex and the City 2, Cruz's sequel to the 2008 film in which she appeared as a banker in a cameo role, was Cruz's only film in 2010. The comedy film, which was largely panned by critics, was largely panned by the audience. In Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean, Cruz appeared in her best Hollywood appearance to date. On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of the film series, opposite Johnny Depp. Cruz portrayed Angelica, a former love interest of Jack Sparrow who has been blamed for her deception in the film. Cruz was the only actress considered for the role as she met Marshall's description. When the film of Nine was wrapped, he accepted her for the role. For the role, the actress spent two months out and learning fencing. Cruz discovered she was pregnant during filming, prompting the costume department to restyle her costume to be more elastic, and the designers had to recruit her sister Mónica Cruz to double for Penélope in dangerous scenes. Stranger Tides is one of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing more than $1.046 billion in box-office receipts worldwide. Cruz made the 2,436th actor on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre on April 1, 2011, the first celebrity on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She became the first Spanish actress to be recognized as a celebrity.

Cruz appeared in the first Nintendo commercial to advertise New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Nintendo 3DS XL, in which she played Mario in the ad. She appeared in Woody Allen's romantic ensemble comedy film To Rome with Love, in which she portrayed a street-smart prostitute who promises to pretend to be the wife of a newlywed couple. Allen compared Cruz's role in the film with that of Italian icons Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren. Despite mixed feedback, Cruz was praised for her "exuberantly, cartoonishly sexy" appearance, which The Week praised as a standout. Cruz reunited with Italian director Sergio Castellitto in his war novel Twice Born about an impure Italian woman who returns to relive her past in Sarajevo the same year. Cruz portrayed the transitional character in a variety of periods in her life, ranging from her early teens to her late forties. Despite receiving little praise from critics, Cruz's performance against Emile Hirsch received raves.

Cruz appeared in Ridley Scott's The Counselor in 2013, starring Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, and husband Javier Bardem. A lawyer who was lured by the promise of quick money finds himself embroiled in drug dealing with ruthless Mexican cartels. Laura, Cruz's girlfriend, is the only innocent character in the story. Critically critical reviews were mostly dismissive of the film, and it became a moderate commercial success at the international box offices. Cruz, together with Antonio Banderas, made a cameo appearance in Pedro Almodóvar's Farcical Comedy I'm So Excited, which marked a return to the director's spotlight, campy comedies of the 1980s and 1990s. Mixed reviews were given to the film, but it did gross more than US$11 million globally.

Cruz co-produced and appeared in the Spanish drama film Ma Ma Ma, directed by Julio Medem, in 2015. Magda, a brave mother and unemployed teacher who is fighting breast cancer, is one of the most complicated, beautiful characters I've ever seen," Cruz later described as "one of the most difficult, beautiful characters" in it. The melodrama was screened in the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival's Special Presentations section, where it received mostly critical feedback for its weepie story line. Cruz was praised for her "aces work," earning her her eighth Goya nomination at the 30th awards ceremony.

Ben Stiller, co-starring and directed, was Cruz's first film of the year. Cruz played shadowy Interpol agent Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and Hansel McDonald, played by Owen Wilson, to help determine who is killing the world's most beautiful people in the sequel film. Cruz, a devote to the original 2001 film, was one of the first female actors to be cast in their roles. The film received mainly critical feedback from critics who believed that it had "more celebrity cameos than laughs" upon its release.

Louis Leterrier's British spy comedy Grimsby, in which she appeared as a strong philanthropist in the film, opposite Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong. Cruz was reportedly paid $400,000 for her appearance in the film, which was released to mainly mixed criticism from critics, who believed that the actress was heavily underused and "looking even less invested here than she did in Zoolander 2."

Cruz reteamed with Fernando Trueba on his Spanish-language period picture The Queen of Spain, a follow-up to Trueba's 1998 film The Girl of Your Dreams, was released in 2016. Cruz resurrects the role of an actress who rose to fame in the 1950s and returns to Spain to film a blockbuster about Queen Isabella I of Castile. Twenty years since the events of the original film. The Spanish comedy drama was selected to be seen in the Berlinale Special Section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, but it earned five nominations at the 31st Goya Awards, earning Cruz her ninth nomination.

Loving Pablo, a Spanish drama film directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, was released in 2017, starring Cruz and her partner, Javier Bardem, in the role of Pablo Escobar. During the 74th Venice International Film Festival, Vallejo's best-selling memoir Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar, received mixed reviews. Cruz conducted hundreds of interviews of Vallejo in order to play the role of the Colombian journalist. Cruz appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Agatha Christie's fourth rendition of the same name. Hercule Poirot, the world's best-known detective, is on the hunt for a murder on the historic European train in the 1930s. Pilar Estravados, a Hispanic version of the novel's Swedish Greta Ohlsson, appears on Cruz's missionary and visitor. The film has grossing $306 million worldwide and received mixed to glowing feedback from critics, with praise for the cast's performances but not for adding anything new to previous adaptations.

Cruz made her television debut in the role of Donatella Versace in the second season of FX's American Crime Story's The Assassination of Gianni Versace, a French crime series. Critics also lauded her performance, and she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Cruz appeared on Bardem's Spanish-language psychological thriller Everybody Knows, directed by Asghar Farhadi.

Cruz appeared in Gastón Duprét & Mariano Cohn's Official Competition in 2021 and reunited with Almodóvar for the film Parallel Mothers, in which she played Janis, a freelance photographer entangled in a marriage that resulted in her pregnancy and led to an affair. Both films premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where the former received rave reviews. Parallel Mothers was also on view at the 59th New York Film Festival, where it was applauded positively. Her performance in the film was lauded, winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and her fourth nomination overall. Stephanie Zacharek of Time said, "Cruz is amazing here, in what could be her best show of her career so far." Janis' fragility and her fortitude are two sides of the coin, and Cruz will switch from one to the other in the shortest breath." "Cruz plays this part with a mood-shifting immediacy that leaves you breathless," Owen Gleiberman of Variety said, with David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter describing her role as "one of the finest roles of her career" and "her most impressive work since Volver." She was lauded at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for her career and achievements in film after the introduction of these films. As Cruz has been acting as the brand's ambassador since 2018, luxury fashion house Chanel has returned as the presenting sponsor for an in-sync case. Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyongo, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan, and Édgar Ramrez appeared in the female-led spy action film The 355, directed by Simon Kinberg, throughout the year. Universal Pictures released the film on January 7, 2022.

Cruz will appear and appear as producer in the thriller film On the Fringe, Juan Diego Botto's debut directorial film debut. In the biopic Ferrari directed by Michael Mann, she will appear alongside Adam Driver and Shailene Woodley. The film will chronicle Enzo Ferrari, the Ferrari brand's founder. Laura Cruz is expected to be the mother of Ferrari's Laura.

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