Synopsis

From the working class suburbs of Madrid, Penélope Cruz triumphed at the age of 18 in Bigas Luna's "Jamón, jamón", as a feisty ingenue, leaving Javier Bardem panting with desire - she married him some fifteen years later after a flurry of American romances. Wise or well advised, Penélope Cruz then avoided being pigeonholed as a young bimbo by accepting the role of a sympathetic young woman in Fernando Trueba's "La Belle Epoque" (1992). The success of the Oscar-nominated film led her to Hollywood, where she landed supporting roles and worked hard on her English, while continuing to shoot in Spain. This was a time when the studios were increasingly sensitive to the expectations of the Latino public, which had become the country's largest minority, and to the revival of Spanish cinema.