As a child, she exhibits an irrepressible drive in acting, in which she reenacts TV commercials to entertain her family but engaged more on dancing especially ballet. For nine years, Penelope studied classical ballet at the National Conservatory in Madrid. She continued her training under Cristina Rota for 4 years and Spanish ballet from Ángela Garrido for 3 years. A twist suddenly rolled up when she outdone 300 other girls at a talent agency audition at age 15.

For seven years, she plotted an acting career in Spain making a debut in 1991 for her appearance in "El Laberinto Griego" Her big break, however, came at the age of 17 when she casted in "Jamon, Jamon" (Ham, Ham in English) and "La Belle Epoque," the film that gained a massive hit in Spain, winning 9 Goyas (the Spanish counterpart of the Oscar) and nabbing the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Strings of appearances made her land on her first big screen role in the movie The Greek Labyrinth (1991). With all the attempts in English-language film her first big international hit was Almodóvar's “Madre” in 1999,

That same year, Penelope won the Best Actress Goya in the film “La Niña de Tus Ojos.” She then appeared in a Hollywood feature, The Hi-Lo Country. A role she played in the flick All About Mother by Pedro Almodovar earned her big roles in the films Women on Top (her first US starring role, and her first major Stateside promotion) and All the Pretty Horses, which captivated the audience’s heart. In 2001, she appeared in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Blow then, certainly, she was Sofia Serrano in a remake of her earlier Spanish hit, Open Your Eyes, Vanilla Sky.

Undeniably, she’s got a face that could launch a thousand ships and this made her coupled with the "50 most beautiful folks of 2000". With her rise in the stardom, Penelope Cruz can also be seen as a prodigal actress. She did a philanthropic contribution of her entire first official Hollywood paycheck to Mother Theresa's children's sanctuary in Calcutta, India and supports the Sabera Foundation where, together with Nacho Cano and other Spanish entertainers, they were able to put up a home, a clinic and a school homeless girls and people afflicted by tuberculosis in Calcutta. She is indeed a more than an IT artist.