- 2001
Hired for Looks
Cruz plays Johnny Depp's cocaine-addicted wife in Blow, which grosses $53 million at the box office. "She was not right at all for the part," director Ted Demme admits to PEOPLE, "but it was just because of her absolute beauty that I hired her."
Below Expectations
Cruz stars in the World War II flop Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Friend and director Pedro Almodóvar tells Time, "I think she was not very lucky at the beginning because the projects she chose didn't meet the level of expectation everybody had, including myself."
- 2004
Bandidas
Cruz begins filming the period adventure Bandidas alongside best friend Salma Hayek, who picked Cruz up at the airport when she first arrived in L.A. During the flight to the set in Durango, Mexico, their small plane rapidly loses altitude and the pilot is forced to do an emergency landing. "We nearly died together," Hayek tells PEOPLE. "I thought, 'If I go now, I go with my good friend.'" While promoting Bandidas, Cruz pinches Hayek's behind, sparking reports that they are lovers. "I grabbed Salma's ass just to keep things moving, because everyone was a little slow," Cruz tells reporters in 2006. "And, of course, the energy changed when I did that."
- 2005
Meeting Matthew
Cruz, 30, stars in the big budget adventure Sahara with Matthew McConaughey, 35, and Steve Zahn. Though the film flops, it launches Cruz's second high-profile romance with her leading man McConaughey. "They are very happy with each other," Hayek tells PEOPLE. "They're a very good couple." They end their two-year relationship in June 2006.
- 2006
She's Worth It
Cruz joins the ranks of Heather Locklear, Beyoncé and Scarlett Johansson when she becomes the next face of L'Oreal for reportedly $2 million a year. "It's funny, a couple of years ago my sister started a 'L'Oreal weekend' with her girlfriends," Cruz says. "It's time they reserve just to feel good about themselves, no talking about men, and they call it the 'Because I'm Worth It' weekend. So now they think it's hilarious that now I'm the one saying that line."
The Filmmaker's Muse
Pedro Almodóvar's latest film Volver (To Return), starring Cruz as a working-class mother whose own mother comes back from the dead to tie up loose ends, premieres at Cannes Film Festival. This is the third time Cruz works with Almodóvar, and earns the best reviews of her career. "It's as if she has a bank of painful emotions that never dries up," Almodóvar, who calls Cruz his muse, tells the Los Angeles Times. In Cannes, the jury awards Cruz and her five female costars an ensemble Best Actress prize.
- 2007
Oscar's Calling
Cruz becomes the first Spanish Best Actress nominee in Academy Award history for her performance in Volver. "I didn't want to leave the set...Pedro had to take me by the hand and walk me to my trailer. I changed [out of my costume], crying and laughing and crying," Cruz tells Entertainment Weekly. "Then I opened the door. And Pedro was there. He said, 'Welcome to your new life.' It was so beautiful." Although The Queen star Helen Mirren takes home the Oscar, Cruz does win Spain's Goya Award for Best Actress.
Sister Act: Mango Clothing
Cruz and her younger sister, Mónica, launch their MNG by Mango clothing collection in Ibiza, Spain. The line features 25 pieces, which are a mix of clothing and accessories, for the Spanish retail chain. "It's very much our taste," Cruz tells PEOPLE. "It's inspired by things we've found in vintage shops and dresses our favorite actresses have worn."
Cruz & Bardem: Spanish Love
Cruz and fellow Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who fielded relationship questions earlier in the summer, are photographed getting cozy in Maldives. Cruz, who shot an upcoming Woody Allen film with Bardem, called him "a friend and the best actor in the world" at a press conference in July.
- 2008
Cruz Lights Up 'Barcelona'
Cruz, Bardem and Scarlett Johansson star in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which earns the Spanish duo raves. Calling Cruz "dynamite," Variety says the film is "by several degrees more hot-blooded than [Allen's] norm, thanks especially due to the palpable chemistry of Bardem and Cruz." Cruz also stars in the romantic drama Elegy, with Ben Kingsley.
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): amazon.com; Kobal Collection/Wireimage; Queen/Wireimage; RAMEY; Kobal Collection/Wireimage; Paul White/AP; Lalo Yasky/WireImage; Everett Collection
- Name
- Penélope Cruz
- Birth Date
- April 28, 1974
- Birth Place
- Madrid, Spain
- Heart Monitor
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Javier Bardem, boyfriend (2007)
Matthew McConaughey, ex-boyfriend (2004 to 2006)
Tom Cruise, ex-boyfriend (2001 to 2004)
Tomas Obermaier, ex-boyfriend (1998 to 2000)
Enrique Sarasola, ex-boyfriend (1997 to 1998)
Nacho Cano, ex-boyfriend (1991 to 1997)
