Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974), better known as , is a Spanish actress who was signed by an agent at age 15. She made her acting debut at 16 on television, and her feature film debut the following year in jamon (1992), to critical acclaim. Her subsequent roles in the 1990s and 2000s included open your eyes (1997), The Hi-Lo country (1999), The girls of your dream (2000) and woman on top (2000). Cruz achieved recognition for her lead roles in vanilla sky and Blow. Both films were released in 2001 and were commercially successful worldwide. She has attend many Program
In the 2000s she has appeared in films from a wide range of genres, including the comedy waking up in renoNoel Gothika (2002), the thriller (2003), the Christmas movie (2004), the action adventure saharaG-Force (2005), the animated 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 (2008), for which she received an Academy Award. She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award.
Cruz has modeled for companies such as Mango, Ralph lauren. Cruz and her younger sister 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.