Penelope Cruz was first seen in the Episode: "Elle et lui" of the erotic French television series ‘Softly from Paris’ in 1991. She made her silver screen debut in the 1992 Spanish romantic tragicomedy film ‘Jamón Jamón’ directed by Bigas Luna. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and was given an approval rating of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, she was also seen in the Spanish comedy-drama film ‘Belle Époque’ which garnered praise from critics. She next appeared in films like ‘For Love, Only for Love’ (1993), ‘The Greek Labyrinth’ (1993), ‘Alegre ma non-troppo’ (1994), ‘Todo es mentira’ (1994), ‘Entre rojas’ (1995), ‘El efecto mariposa’ (1995), ‘La Celestina’ (1996), ‘Brujas’ (1996), and ‘Not Love, Just Frenzy’ (1996). In 1997, she starred as ‘Sofia’ in the Spanish film ‘Open Your Eyes’ directed by Alejandro Amenábar. The film garnered praise from critics and scored an approval rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. She continued to star in films like ‘The Girl of Your Dreams’ (1998), ‘Talk of Angels’ (1998), ‘All About My Mother’ (1999), ‘The Man with Rain in His Shoes’ (1999), ‘All the Pretty Horses’ (2000), and ‘Woman on Top’ (2000).
Cruz reprised her role as ‘Sofia Serrano’ in the 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film ‘Vanilla Sky,’ the English adaptation of the 1997 Spanish film ‘Open Your Eyes.’ Even though the film opened to a mixed reception, it went on to become a major box office hit and grossed over $203.4 million against a budget of $68 million. The following year, she starred in the American road comedy-drama film ‘Waking Up in Reno’ directed by Jordan Brady. The film received a lukewarm response from critics. She was next seen in films such as ‘Fanfan la Tulipe’ (2003), ‘Masked and Anonymous’ (2003), ‘Head in the Clouds’ (2004), ‘Noel’ (2004), ‘Sahara’ (2005), ‘Bandidas’ (2006), ‘Volver’ (2006) for which she received the ‘Academy Award,’ ‘British Academy Film Award,’ and ‘Golden Globe Award’ nominations, and ‘The Good Night’ (2007). In 2008, she starred as ‘Maria Elena’ in the romantic comedy-drama film ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ directed by Woody Allen. The film garnered praise from critics and did decent business at the box office. Cruz also became a recipient of the ‘Academy Award’ and ‘British Academy Film Award’ for her performance in the film. She went on to receive another ‘Academy Award’ nomination for her portrayal of Carla Albanese in the 2009 romantic musical drama film ‘Nine’ directed by Rob Marshall. The film saw mixed reviews upon release and was given a 39% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
She next appeared in films like ‘Sex and the City 2’ (2010), ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ‘ (2011), ‘To Rome with Love’ (2012), ‘The Counselor’ (2013), ‘The Boxtrolls’ (2014), ‘Ma Ma’ (2015), ‘Zoolander 2’ (2016), ‘Loving Pablo’ (2017), ‘Everybody Knows’ (2018), ‘Pain and Glory’ (2019), and ‘Parallel Mothers’ (2021). She was last seen in the 2022 American spy film ‘The 355’ directed by Simon Kinberg. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics.
