Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. She was born April 28, 1974 in Madrid and named after a song by Joan Manuel Serrat. Her parents are Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. Cruz was a dancer as a child and young teen. She completed 2º B.U.P. (2nd year of secondary school), but dropped school at the age of 15 after she beat more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition. She received nine years of classic ballet training at the Conservatorio Nacional in Madrid, four years of dance performance with several dance courses at the Cristina Rota School in New York, and three years of Spanish Ballet with Ángela Garrido. She also had Jazz Dance courses with Raúl Caballero.

She first achieved fame when she appeared in the video clip La fuerza del destino for the Spanish synth-pop group Mecano. She later started a relationship with Nacho Cano, a member of the group, which lasted for several years.