Known as: Penelope Cruz
Birth Name: Penelope Cruz Sanchez
Nickname: Pe
Birthday: April 28 1974
Birth Place: Madrid, Spain
Height: 170cm (5' 6")
Weight: 51kg (113lb)
Hair Colour: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Claim to fame: as Alejandra in All the Pretty Horses (2000)
Nationality: Spanish
Ancestry:
Education: Secondary Studies (dropped out); National Conservatory Madrid Spain (majored in Classical Ballet); Cristina Rota's School in Nueva York (4 years of theater)
Occupation: Actress, Model

With her expressive brown eyes, lustrous dark hair and flawless olive skin, the ballet dancer, model and actress Penelope Cruz burst onto the scene in 1992, making her mark on Spain and international audiences as well.

Cruz made her U.S. film debut in 1998, starring with Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup in Stephen Frears' contemporary western "Hi lo Country, The (1998)."

Cruz will soon be seen starring opposite Matt Damon in Billy Bob Thornton's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy novel "All the Pretty Horses (2000)" and in Ted Demme's "Blow (2001)," starring with Johnny Depp. This summer she begins production as the star of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)," with co-star Nicolas Cage and Oscar® nominated director, John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love (1998)"). American audiences will also soon get to see her in Fernando Trueba's award-winning "La Nina de tus Ojos (1998)" ("The Girl of Your Dreams (1998)").

While increasing her volume of work in the U.S., Cruz continues to be one of Spain's most celebrated actresses. She most recently starred in "Volaverunt (1999)" by award-winning director J.J. Bigas Luna for whom she worked as a teenager in "Jamon, Jamon (1992)," only her second feature film and the one that rocketed her to international stardom. Cruz followed the international triumph of "Jamon, Jamon (1992)" with the even more popular "Belle Époque (1992)" which won the Oscar® for Best Foreign Film.

Born in Madrid, which she still calls home, Cruz became a star there before moving to New York where she continued her dance studies and her acting. She made her American screen debut in 1993 with the made-for-television feature "Framed," starring Timothy Dalton. Her other theatrical feature credits include "Open Your Eyes (1997)," "Talk of Angels (1998)" and "Allegra Ma Non Troppo (1994)."

Cruz moved into English-language films in 1999 with The Hi-Lo Country (1999), opposite Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup. With the trajectory of her career swiftly moving, she has since completed another Spanish film, Open Your Eyes (1997) (directed by Alejandro Amenaba), as well as five new English-language movies, including Corelli; All the Pretty Horses (2000),directed by Billy Bob Thornton, opposite Matt Damon; Blow (2001), a true story of cocaine smuggling in the 1970s, co-starring Johnny Depp; Woman on Top (1999) (partially in Spanish) and Twice Upon a Yesterday (1998), director Maria Ripeli's English language debut. She will next be seen starring in Vanilla Sky opposite Tom Cruise.

A Madrilena, Penelope Cruz is the eldest of three children born to Encarna and Eduardo Cruz. She studied ballet for 14 years. Her sister Monica is a professional flamenco dancer and her brother Eduardo dreams of playing soccer.