Penelope
Cruz(born April 28, 1974),is a Spanish actress.
She gathered critical acclaim as a young actress for films such
as Jamon, La Nina
de tus ojos, and Belle epoque. She has also starred in several
American films such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Bandidas. Cruz has
been awarded three Goyas, two European Film Awards, the Golden Palm
for
Best Actress, and a BAFTA. In 2009, she won an Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA for her role in Vicky
Cristina Barcelona.
Penelope Cruz first achieved
fame when she appeared in La fuerza del destino for the Spanish synthpop
group Mecano.
She later started a relationship
with Nacho Cano, a member of the group. A TV presenter for the
teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha, she also had early exposure
in Série Rose, an erotic French TV serial. In one episode
she played the role of a blind prostitute and in another played a
young noblewoman pretending to be a young nobleman in a comedy of
errors. She also directed Nacho Cano's video of "El waltz de
los locos", in 1994.
For Penelope Cruz, the
early 2000s were a period of mediocre reviews and mixed commercial
success. In late 2001, she
appeared in the film
Vanilla Sky, the Hollywood remake of Abre los ojos. In 2006, she
co-starred with her best friend, Salma
Hayek, in the film Bandidas.
That same year, Cruz received highly favourable reviews for her performance
in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. She shared a Best Actress award
at the Cannes Film Festival with five of her co-stars, and was nominated
for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award,
and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. The latter
of these nominations made her the first Spanish actress to be nominated
for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
In May 2007, it was announced that Penelope
and her sister Mónica would be designing a 25-piece collection
for the Barcelona-based fashion chain, Mango. On July 7, 2007,
Cruz presented at Live
Earth. In late 2007, she starred in the Jaume de Laiguana-directed
video for her brother's first single, named "Cosas que contar",
along with her friend Mía Maestro and her sister Mónica.
Cruz had previously shown a keen interest in fashion and is a model
for L'Oreal and its "Telescopic" mascara. In July 2007,
the British Advertising Standards Authority rapped L'Oréal
for a television advert on its “Telescopic” mascara,
featuring Penélope Cruz, for failing to state that the model
was wearing false eyelashes.
In 2008, she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky
Cristina Barcelona as Mariia Elena, Javier Bardem's mentally-unstable
ex-wife. Her performance has received much praise, and many critics
also predicted
she might get an Oscar for the role. On January 22nd, 2009, she
indeed received a nomination and subsequently won for Best Supporting
Actress, making her the only Spanish Oscar nominee of 2008 and
the second Spanish actor to win an Academy Award. |
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Actress
Teri Hatcher Desperate Housewives
Teri Hatcher began her performing
career as a young girl taking ballet lessons at the San
Juan Girls' Ballet Studio in downtown Los Altos, California.
She later studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater.
One of her early jobs (in 1984) was as a cheerleader with
the San Francisco 49ers. Teri
Hatcher Bio and Photos |
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Actress
Erica Durance Smallville
Born in Calgary, Erica Durance was raised in Three Hills, Alberta. After
graduating from high school, Durance moved to Vancouver, British Columbia,
to pursue her interest in acting professionally. "I wanted to get
my feet wet in a smaller area than Los Angeles when I gave it a try",
Durance has said. Erica
Durance Bio and Photos |
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Movie
and Television Actress Alyssa Milano
In 1983, at age 10, she landed her breakthrough role on the new sitcom "Who's
the Boss?" as Tony Danza's saccharine sweet daughter, Samantha Micelli,
a kid whose native Brooklyn accent rivaled her TV dad's. Alyssa
Milano Bio and Photos |
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Movie
Actress Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz left school at 16 to become a model. For the next five years,
she traveled the globe, working in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and
Paris. As a model for the Elite Agency, she did commercial work for such
products as Coke, Nivea, and L.A. Gear. Cameron
Diaz Bio and Photos |
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Movie
Actress Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon has been featured four
times in the annual "100 Most Beautiful" issues of
People magazine. In 2007, she was selected by People and the
entertainment news program Access Hollywood as one of the best
dressed female stars of the year. Reese
Witherspoon Bio and Photos |
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Movie
Actress Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba's first film role, in the
1994 film Camp Nowhere, came her way by chance. She was cast
with a bit part in the film after one of the characters dropped
out of the production. Dark-haired Jessica was cast as the replacement,
thanks to the fact that her hair matched that of the original
actress. Jessica
Alba Photos |
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Television
Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt has been in front
of the camera ever since she was nine when she joined a Show
Team in Texas, this was a dance team that traveled to Russia
and Denmark. When she was ten she was an international spokesperson
for LA Gear shoes. Jennifer
Hewitt Bio and Pictures |
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