She received nine years of classic ballet training at the Conservatorio Nacional in Madrid, four years of dance performance with several dance courses at the Cristina Rota School in New York, and three years of Spanish Ballet with Ángela Garrido. She also had jazz dance courses with Raúl Caballero.

Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the video clip La fuerza del destino for the Spanish group Mecano. She was a TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha. Cruz's first major films were Jamón, Jamón and Belle Epoque, a film which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 1997, she starred as Sofía alongside Eduardo Noriega in Abre los Ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, and in 2000 she appeared with Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses. In 1999, she appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre, which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film.

In early 2001, she appeared in the film Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise, which sparked a supposed three-year relationship with the actor.
After filming Sahara in February 2005, she started dating actor Matthew McConaughey.

Public Name: Penélope Cruz
Birth Name: Penélope Cruz Sánchez
Date of Birth: April 28, 1974
Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain

Filmography

• The Loop (2008)
• Manolete (2007)
• The Good Night (2007)
• Volver (2006)
• Bandidas (2006)
• Chromophobia (2005)
• Sahara (2005)
• Head in the Clouds (2004)
• Noel (2004)
• Non ti muovere (2004)
• Gothika (2003)
• Fanfan la tulipe (2003)
• Masked and Anonymous (2003)
• Waking Up in Reno (2002)
• Vanilla Sky (2001)
• Sin noticias de Dios (2001)
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
• Blow (2001)
• All the Pretty Horses (2000)
• Woman on Top (2000)
• Volavérunt (1999)
• Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
• The Hi-Lo Country (1998)
• Niña de tus ojos, La (1998)
• Talk of Angels (1998)
• The Man with Rain in His Shoes (1998)
• Don Juan (1998)
• Abre los ojos (1997)
• Carne trémula (1997)
• Hjørne af paradis, Et (1997)
• Amor perjudica seriamente la salud, El (1996)
• Más que amor, frenesí (1996)
• Celestina, La (1996)
• Brujas (1996)
• Efecto mariposa, El (1995)
• Entre rojas (1995)
• Todo es mentira (1994)
• Alegre ma non troppo (1994)
• Ribelle, La (1993)
• Laberinto griego, El (1993)
• Per amore, solo per amore (1993)
• Belle epoque (1992)
• Framed (1992)
• Jamón, jamón (1992)
• Mecano - Los vídeos (1992)
• "Série rose" (1 episode, 1991)

Awards

• Imagen Foundation Entertainer of the Year 2002
• Goya Best Actress "La Nina de tus Ojos/The Girl of Your Dreams" 1999