In the 2000s she has appeared in films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy Waking Up in Reno (2002), the thriller Gothika (2003), the Christmas movie Noel (2004), the action adventure Sahara (2005), the animated G-Force and the musical drama Nine. Her most notable films to date are Volver (2006), for which she earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), for which she received an Academy Award. She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award and the first Spanish actress to receive a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Cruz has modeled for companies such as Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal. Cruz and her younger sister Mónica Cruz have designed items for Mango. She has donated both her time and money to charities. Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working for Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission.
1 Early life
2 Acting career
2.1 Early work, 1989–1996
2.2 Early critical success, 1997–2000
2.3 Breakthrough, 2001–2005
2.4 Worldwide recognition, 2006–present
3 Public image
4 Philanthropy
5 Personal life
6 Filmography
7 References
8 External links
Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Alcobendas, Community of Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic She was raised Roman CatholicThroughout her childhood, Cruz lived in Alcobendas, a working-class town, although she spent "a lot" of time at her grandmother's apartment Cruz is the oldest of three siblings she has a younger brother, Eduardo, who is a singer, and a younger sister, Mónica, who is an actressShe has said that she had a happy childhood, and Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes described Cruz's childhood as a "simple life In a foreshadowing way, Cruz remembers when she was four years old, "playing with some friends and being aware that I was acting as I was playing with themI would think of a character and pretend to be someone else In 2000, Cruz stated that as a child she would throw herself on the floor and "start kicking and breaking things" when she did not get her way
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