Penelope Cruz: the story of a Spanish star (5 photos)

The icon of Spanish cinema, Penelope Cruz, at the dawn of her career, won the status of a Hollywood star, who still continues to attract attention to the national cinema of her country with its bright aesthetics and simple human stories.





Pedro Almodovar's muse breaks the stereotypes about the meager choice of roles that Hollywood can offer actresses over 30: we have seen Cruz as a mother, lover, director, killer... And even a pirate.

However, her path to world fame can hardly be called easy. The future actress was born in Madrid: her parents, an auto mechanic and a hairdresser, named her Penelope in honor of the Joan Serrat song of the same name. They hoped that the girl would build a career on the ballet stage, but by the age of 16, Cruz realized that she wanted to connect herself with the world of cinema, although she never gave up her love of dancing.



"Ham, ham"

The actress’s first works were roles in the films “Belle Epoque” and “Ham, Ham.” The work not only brought Cruz success, it was there that she first found herself on the same set with Javier Bardem - 15 years later, the actors got married and are still happily married. In addition, it was for this role that the actress was nominated for the prestigious European Goya Film Award - then Cruz was sure that they were trying to prank her.

In 1997, the actress met Pedro Almodovar: starting with a small work in the drama “Living Flesh”, Cruz appeared in seven projects of the Spanish director - almost always she was given a key role. Interesting fact: it was her father who instilled in Penelope a love of cinema. As a child, he gave her a VCR, on which she watched movies in the evenings. That’s how, at the age of 16, she first saw Almodovar’s “Tie Me Up” - this made her start attending castings.



"Return"

Their main collaboration can easily be called the film “The Return”, in which the director sincerely admires Penelope in the image of a mother - strong, tired and loving her loved ones, capable of murder. Surely, Cruz will more than once inspire Almodovar to new projects, no less memorable than “Parallel Mothers” - the story of the trauma of Spain’s military past, boldly told in the language of a soap opera about child switching.



"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Cruz's Hollywood career can be called no less bright. In addition to her career as a Chanel ambassador, the actress was the first among Spanish stars to win an Oscar statuette for her supporting role in the romantic tragicomedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” by Woody Allen, where she played a vivid love triangle with Scarlett Johannson and Javier Bardem - then the actors had already appeared in collaborations more than once projects, but got married only in 2010.

By that time, the star already had an affair with Tom Cruise: the actors met on the set of the drama Vanilla Sky. It is worth noting that Cruz has more than once started relationships with Hollywood celebrities - she managed to conquer Matthew McConaughey and Matt Damon while collaborating on films.



"The Skin I Live In"

Another Almodovar film in which his muse could appear is “The Skin I Live In.” Penelope was supposed to be the main character in the twisted thriller, but a scheduling conflict prevented her from doing so: Cruz had already signed on for a role in the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, and she was also expecting the birth of a child in 2010. According to the actress, this event became decisive in her life.

Penelope Cruz's career in Spanish auteur cinema is in no way inferior to her Hollywood projects - many of them are planned for years in advance. By experimenting with genres, the actress manages to inspire directors and prove that this actress seems capable of playing anyone.