The films and career of Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz Sanchez (DOB, April 28, 1974) is a Spanish actress. Her already extensive filmography includes many Spanish language films and others in a growing number in other languages: English, Italian, and French.

Several of these productions have achieved considerable success in Europe and America, and have provided several awards including Goya Awards, a British BAFTA award, the David di Donatello Italian Prize and an Oscar.

Penelope Cruz is the only Spanish actress who has managed to stabilize and continue to work with in Hollywood. In 2006 she was the first Spanish actress nominated for an Oscar, at the Academy Awards in Hollywood and the Golden Globes in the category of best female artist, for her role in the Spanish film Volver, directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.

On that occasion she did not get the Oscar, but in 2008 she was nominated again, and this time with success to became the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar for the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona directed by Woody Allen. This film also won BAFTA Award and her third Goya, and was nominated for the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.

Penelope Cruz has become a popular actress on the Spanish film scene in 1997 and finally achieved her big dream by collaborating as a small character in a film by Pedro Almodovar also starring Javier Bardem, Liberto Rabal, Angela Molina and Jose Sancho among others.

In 1997, the role played Sofia in the movie Open your eyes directed by Alejandro Amenabar where she performed alongside Eduardo Noriega, Fele Martinez heard. A huge box office hit that launched her Spanish career.

After these two films, which marked a clear turning point in its national film career, the actress starred in the 1998 film The girl of your eyes Fernando Trueba again in the cast with actors who shared the popular film Spanish Resines Antonio, Jorge Sanz, Loles Leon, Maria Rosa and Santiago Segura Sarda among others.

With it she achieved its first significant prize in the Goya Awards for Spanish film academy as a lead actress and many other accolades from critics and audiences, who awarded her the best actress nod. She also won recognition from fellow professionals with the award for best actress from the Actors Union.

In 2000 she took the leap to the United States where she performed alongside Matt Damon in All the pretty horses, with Nicolas Cage in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, with Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky (remake of Open your eyes) and Johnny Depp in Blow.

The next collaboration between Pedro Almodovar and actress was in Back (2006), a film which won the award for Best Actress at Cannes in 2006 Thanks to this movie, January 23, 2007 she became the first Spanish actress nominated for an Oscar as best actress in Hollywood principal, competing with Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren, who won it for The Queen.

On January 28, 2007, Penelope Cruz gets a second Goya as best actress for her role as Raimunda in Volver. Also for this work was in October 2006, the prize for Best Actress at the Hollywood Awards, awards given annually by film critics, producers and festival directors.

The actress stared alongside Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall, American movie director Woody Allen on Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Which was shot in Oviedo and Barcelona in the summer of 2007 and premiered in August 2008, with good box office receipts.

Penelope’s work was particularly praised and led the Golden Globes and the Oscars for the second time, this time as Best Actress. Her great rival Kate Winslet snatched the Golden Globe, but Oscars were nominated in different categories so that both were winners.

Penelope has also embodied one of the central characters of the seventeenth Pedro Almodovar film, Broken Hugs (2009), a story inspired by the black cinema of the 50s The premiere of this film was announced in mid-March 2009. She will also be seen in the film adaptation of the musical Nine, with a brilliant cast that includes Sophia Loren and Judi Dench.