Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born April 28, 1974, in Madrid, Spain), better known as Penélope Cruz, is a Golden Globe- and Academy Award nominated Spanish actress. Originally a dancer, she soon moved into Spanish television[1], and since then she has appeared in a string of films in Spanish, English, French and Italian.
Cruz has a younger brother, Eduardo, a singer, and a younger sister Mónica, who closely resembles her: a similarity exploited for some Spanish TV ads. In the 2000s, Mónica left her dancing career and achieved note on her own in the youth-oriented TV series Un Paso Adelante.
Cruz claims to be a vegetarian since 2000, though this fact is disputed. She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Cruz has also donated a considerable amount of money and time to charity. In 1997 she volunteered in Uganda for two months.
After appearing in 2001 in the film Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise, they had a three-year relationship. They split up in January 2004.
After filming Sahara in February 2005, she started dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In May 2006, they released a joint statement to People, saying that they "have decided to take time off as a couple. Later that year they announced that they were "no longer intimate and separating was the best thing to do at this time."
Cruz had a short-term relationship with actor Orlando Bloom in 2006.
It has been rumored that she's currently dating rocker Lenny Kravitz.
Cruz is a close friend of actress Salma Hayek. The two co-starred in the 2006 film, Bandidas.
In April 2007 Cruz, who is now single, stated that she would like to have children one day and she feels the need to adopt. "Of course I want to have kids," Cruz, 32, tells the Spanish edition of Marie Claire in its April issue. "I want to have my own kids, but also adopt. For a while I've had the feeling that my life won't be complete if I don't adopt."
