Biography

By 2002, Penelope Cruz had become one of the most celebrated actresses in the world. Aside from her cinematic end product, she gazed down from Ralph Lauren posters all over, and there was the small issue of a relationship with Tom Cruise, then daily tabloid fodder coming after his split from Nicole Kidman. Regrettably for Cruz, everyone acknowledged who she was, but few knew what she did. Her huge success in Europe, where she'd came along in two movies awarded Oscars as Best Foreign Language film and a batch of other illustrious productions, had passed most people by. To them, she was simply Tom's latest exciting crush. So, having drudged to achieve Hollywood success which is not easy for a non-English speaker, then been totally eclipsed by her celebrated partner, 2004's split from Cruise would see Penelope battling to assert her position and win the respect she should have already encountered. The road had not been long - she was still only 30 - but it had been a rough road, indeed.