Nickname: Madonna of Madrid & Pen

Height: 5’5.5” (1.66m)

Date of Birth: April 28^th, 1974

Current Age: 32

Star Sign: Taurus

Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain

Eye Colour: Brown

Education: Spain’s National Conservatory

                   Cristina Rota’s Theatre School, New York

Family: Father – Eduardo Cruz

             Mother – Encarna Cruz

             Brother – Eduardo Cruz (21)

             Sister – Monica Cruz (29)

Celebrity Relationships: Faiz Ahmed

                                         Tom Cruise (Actor)

                                          Matt Damon (Actor)

                                          Matthew McConaughey (Actor)

Celebrity Friends: Goya Toledo

                                Salma Hayek

                                Nacho Cano

Occupation: Actress

Filmography:

Passion India (2007)

The Loop (2007)

Manolete (2006) playing Antonita Sino 

The Good Night (2006) playing Anna

Volver (2006) playing Raimunda

Bandidas (2006) playing Maria Alvarez

Chromophobia (2005) playing Gloria

Sahara (2005) playing Eva Rojas

Head in the Clouds (2004) playing Mia

Don’t Move (2004) playing Italia

Gothika (2003) playing Chloe Sava

Fanfan la tulipe (2003) playing Adeline La Franchise

Masked and Anonymous (2003) playing Pagan Lace

Waking Up in Reno (2002) playing Brenda

Vanilla Sky (2001) playing Sofia Serrano

No News from God (2001) playing Carmen Ramos

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) playing Pelagia

Blow (2001) playing Mirtha Jung 

All the Pretty Horses (2000) playing Luisa

Woman on Top (2000) playing Isabella Oliveira

Volaverunt (1999) playing Pepita Tudo

All About My Mother (1999) playing Sister Maria Rosa Sanz  

The Hi-Lo Country (1998) playing Josepha O’Neil

The Girl of Your Dreams (1998) playing Macarena Granada

Talk of Angels (1998) playing Pilar

The Man with Rain in His Shoes (1998) playing Louise

Don Juan (1998) playing Mathurine

Open Your Eyes (1997) playing Sofia

Live Flesh (1997) playing Isabel Plaza Caballero

A Corner of Paradise (1997) playing Dona Helena

Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1996) playing Diana

Not Love, Just Frenzy (1996)

Celestina, La (1996) playing Melibea

Brujas (1996) playing Patricia

The Butterfly Effect (1995) playing a party guest

Entre Rojas (1995) playing Lucia

It’s All Lies (1994) playing Lucia

Alegre ma non troppo (1994) playing Salome

The Rebel (1993) playing Enza

The Greek Labyrinth (1993) playing Elise

For Love, Only for Love (1993) playing Mary

The Age of Beauty (1992) playing Luz

Framed (1992) playing Lola Del Moreno

A Tale of Ham and Passion (1992) playing La Hija de puta

Her Family History: Penelope’s father Eduardo is a retailer and auto mechanic and her mother Encarna is a hairdresser. Her mother also acts as Penelope’s manager. Her parents named her after the song “Penelope” by Joan Manuel Serrat. Penelope’s sister Monica is also a Spanish TV Star and flamenco dancer and her brother Eduardo is a soccer player. Penelope is a distant cousin of Alexandra Cruz.

Interesting Facts about Penelope:

      As a child, Penelope would re-enact  TV Commercials for her family’ amusement

      She studied classical ballet for 9 years at Spain’s National Conservatory, she has also studied Spanish ballet and Jazz

      Before making it in films, Penelope had several roles in Spanish TV shows and music videos

      Penelope won a “Best Actress” Goya for her performance in ‘The Girl of Your Dreams’

      Penelope was rumoured to have donated her entire pay check from ‘The Hi-Lo Country’ to Mother Teresa’s children’s sanctuary in Calcutta after spending a week there volunteering

      Penelope became a vegetarian after filming ‘All the Pretty Horses’

      She volunteered to visit Uganda for 2 months in 1997 with her then boyfriend Faiz Ahmad

      Together with Spanish musician Nacho Cano and other Spanish entertainers, Penelope helped set up the Sabera Foundation which built a home, a school and a clinic for homeless girls and people suffering from tuberculosis in Calcutta. Two documentaries were made in  Spain on the project but unfortunately the project fell through due to differences of opinion

      She was voted the 7^th “Sexiest Female Movie Star” in the Australian Empire Magazine in 2002

      Penelope lived with Spanish musician Nacho Cano who is part of the Spanish pop group “Mecano”, Penelope also appeared in one of their music videos

      Ranked #23 on Stuff Magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women in the World” list in 2002

      Penelope likes to keep stray cats

      She learned Italian because she wanted the part in ‘Don’t Move’ so bad. Penelope went on to win the Italian equivalent of the Oscars for “Best Actress” for her performance  

      Penelope speaks Spanish, Italian, French and English

      She shares a birthday with Jessica Alba and Jay Leno

      Two of her boyfriends Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey have been named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine

      When she was 18 Penelope was cast in ‘A Tale of Ham and Passion’ which featured Penelope in several erotic scenes, she claims her role in this movie has psychologically scarred her for life as she was only a teenager and she was required to film such rude scenes

      She says it was Victoria Abril’s performance in ‘Tie me up, tie me down!’ that made her determined to become an actress

      Ranked #51 on FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World” list in 2005

      Penelope earned $2 million for her role in ‘Vanilla Sky’

      Since splitting up with Matthew McConaughey, Penelope has been rumoured to be romantically linked with her ‘Manolete’ co-star Adrien Brody

      She became the face of L’Oreal in 2006

      Penelope became the face of P. Diddy’s Sean John Women’s Collection in 2005

      She applied to adopt a child in 1995, but her application was rejected by her native country Spain because she was single

      Penelope pinched her friend Salma Hayek’s bum during a photo shoot for their film ‘Bandidas’ sparking rumours that they were lesbians

      She got lost on her way to the ‘Sahara’ set one day, so one of her scenes had to be filmed with a double

      Two men tried to mug Penelope when she was in Paris in January, 2005

      She collapsed while filming ‘Sahara’ in Morocco in 2004 because of exhaustion from the intense desert heat and violent sandstorms on the set

      Penelope was so frightened about walking down the red carpet at the Oscars in 2004 she considered pulling out of the ceremony all together

      Before splitting from Tom Cruise, the pair were engaged and due to be married on Valentine’s Day, 2003

Penelope’s Personal Quotes:

"The most difficult thing in the world is to start a career known only for your looks, and then to try to become a serious actress. No one will take you seriously once you are known as the pretty woman."

I'm strong and opinionated. Those qualities brought me a lot of problems since I was a little girl in school, saying 'I don't agree' and fighting with the children. It's part of my curiosity for life.

There's so much more I want to do. I refuse to get to 50 and wait at home for the phone to ring. In Spain, actresses work until they are old. That's my plan.

"I love Salma Hayek, we've been friends for a really long time. i admire how she has come such a long way and always remained grounded and who she is. She never compromises to follow her vision and she is loyal. Such qualities only mark the great stars."