Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz

Birth Date: April 28, 1974
Birth Place: Madrid, Spain

Although she came to Hollywood with 20 films and a Spanish Academy Award under her belt, screen siren Penélope Cruz became best known in America as the off-screen girlfriend of costars Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey.

After appearing in a string of mediocre films from All the Pretty Horses to Sahara, Cruz returned to her roots and collaborated with Oscar-winning writer-director Pedro Almodóvar on the Spanish-language dramedy Volver. Her gut-wrenching portrayal of a mother dealing with her teenage daughter's crisis and the death of her own mother made Cruz the first Spanish Best Actress nominee in Oscar history.

The brunette bombshell, who landed contracts with designer Ralph Lauren and cosmetics brand L'Oreal, once called herself a "serial monogamous," but was recently linked to Javier Bardem, Orlando Bloom and Josh Hartnett.