LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Penelope Cruz: Franco Spain
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In Spain, Cruz appeared in music videos as a teenager and films as a young adult. Two of the films, Belle Epoque and Todo Sobre Mi Madre, won Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Since appearing in All the Pretty Horses in 2000, she has starred in many popular and acclaimed American films, such as Vanilla Sky, Blow and Gothika. She costars with Salma Hayek in this fall’s Bandidas. Cruz ... appears in Volver and has three other films in the works, including The Good Night with Gwyneth Platrow and Danny DeVito. For her role in the 2006 film Volver, Cruz has been nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe.
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From All Movie Guide: One of Spain's foremost leading ladies of the 1990s, Penélope Cruz has managed to make her mark with international audiences as well. Born in Madrid on April 28, 1974, Cruz was one of three children of a merchant and a hairdresser. After years of intensive study in ballet and jazz, she broke into acting in 1992. That year, she had starring roles in Jamón Jamón and Belle Epoque, two very disparate films. The former cast her as the desperately poor daughter of a village prostitute, while the latter featured her as one of four lusty daughters of a wealthy man in pre-Franco Spain. Belle Epoque proved to be a huge success, winning nine Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of an Academy Award) and an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
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Melissa Block talks with Penelope Cruz about her new film, Volver. Directed by Pedro Almodovar, the film's title means "to return." It is inspired by the filmmaker's childhood in La Mancha, Spain.
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Always the performer, Penélope Cruz (born April 28, 1974, in Madrid, Spain) began re-enacting TV commercials when she was a toddler and studied classical ballet during her youth. Her big break... came at age 15 when she beat out hundreds of girls at a talent agency audition.
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After learning jazz and ballet in Spain, Penelope ended up at the Cristina Rota theatre school. After 4 years of studying she appeared in the movie "Jamon Jamon". Her career then really took off and she has now starred in films such as "Woman on Top".
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Franco Spain