Penelope Cruz Sanchez and Javier Bardem. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem: we have no one closer to each other. “It’s scary when a man chooses for a woman”

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"Sumpleanos feliz!" from all sides she will hear tomorrow “Happy Birthday!”

He fell in love with her at first sight, but was able to admit his feelings only many years later.

They became best friends, but filming Woody Allen's film changed the lives of both actors in just one day...

She…

In her native Spain, she is easily called simply “Pe”, and in Hollywood – “Spanish Charm” or “Madonna Madonna”.

Mother future star She dreamed that her daughter would become a ballerina, but at the age of 15 Penelope signed a contract and plunged headlong into TV. It is noteworthy that she gave her first fee to the last cent to charitable foundation Mother Teresa.

Her film debut was the film Greek labyrinth(1991), after the premiere of which the 17-year-old actress was hospitalized with a diagnosis of nervous exhaustion.

She does not like jewelry, believing that bright trinkets distract attention from herself. But he almost never takes the jade ring off his finger—a gift from his grandmother.

She can easily sleep up to 18 hours straight.

She had the opportunity to play the same film role twice: in a fantasy thriller Open your eyes(1997)...

And its American remake Vanilla Sky(2001).

She is a vegetarian and her favorite foods are French fries, papaya and Japanese salads. True, the actress herself notes that she drinks cola so much that it’s time to chalk this addiction up to her bad habits (smoking and squandering).

He…

He was born into an acting family, and together with his brother and sister continued the family tradition.

In his youth he was a member of the Spanish national rugby team. And in addition to this, I studied painting at an art and industrial school.

He is hurt by the fact that, due to his brutal appearance, he is mistaken for a rude macho and a bully, but in fact he is a shy and delicate person.

Before finally becoming an actor, he tried a lot of jobs: he was a bouncer, worked in construction, and even performed in a male striptease!

The actor considers himself a hypochondriac and is shy in front of beautiful women.

They…

They met in 1992 on the set of the film Jamon, jamon– they had to play together in a frank scene, but the aspiring actress was terribly worried and nervous. The only one who was able to calm Penelope was Javier.

After filming, it was obvious to everyone that Bardem was completely and irrevocably in love with Penelope. The girl considered the actor her best friend, and he readily played along with her.

Everyone started their own life. Penelope had affairs with the most eligible bachelors in Hollywood, and Javier was not alone either.

But after a difficult breakup with Cruz Matthew McConaughey the actress plunged headlong into her work, and fate brought her and Bardem together again film set – Woody Allen I was just filming Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008).

Penelope was worried that she didn’t quite understand what the director wanted from her. And again Javier was nearby. And again, in just one day, their relationship changed...

The novel was hidden for a long time and carefully. Javier didn't even come to the Oscar ceremony, where Penelope received a statuette. But in May 2010 it became known that the actress was pregnant, and no one cared a lot of work figure out who the future happy father is.

The wedding took place in July 2010 in the Bahamas. I created the dress for the ceremony especially for my friend Penelope. John Galliano. Only close friends and relatives of the couple were invited to the celebration, and the world significant event Penelope's agent Amanda Silverman said.

Thinking out loud. I have always been interested in such long-term, “multi-episode” relationships, especially when friendship is in the foreground for everyone, even the main characters. Personally, I am completely and irrevocably sure that whatever friendship there is between a man and a woman is just a temporary state, a prelude that fills the space between these two until the moment when it finally develops into something more. It's just a matter of time.

What do you think about friendship between a man and a woman?

The magnificent actress Penelope Cruz often got used to the role so much that she transferred love from the set to beyond. And although she tried to hide her personal life all her life, a series of amorous relationships with A-list stars could not go unnoticed by the paparazzi. A fleeting romance with Matt Damon after the film “Untamed Hearts.” Not a longer affair with Nicolas Cage, which, however, managed to destroy his marriage.

The romance with Tom Cruise also began as a friendship

On the set of the drama “Vanilla Sky” in 2001, both actors were called friends, although few believed them - they were seen together too often, and even for three years in a row.

Penelope didn't speak English well, and Matthew McConaughey wasn't good at Spanish. Common language they never found

Tom was replaced by Matthew McConaughey, not only in Pe's life, but also in the film "Sahara", from which Cruise refused to participate. However, they broke up with him a couple of years later “due to incompatible work schedules.” And in 2006 she found herself free - only to fall into stronger networks.

Javier Bardem. Like in the movies

Despite all the charm of the Hollywood boys, only her compatriot, a native of the Canary Islands, actor Javier Bardem, was able to catch and, most importantly, keep Penelope.

Since their very first film together, Bardem has always helped Penelope get used to the role

They first met in 1992 on the set of the film “Ham, Ham,” in which 18-year-old Cruz played her first role. At that moment, they did not find anything attractive in each other: the aspiring actress was too absorbed in the process of making the film, and 23-year-old Javier already found someone to direct his male attention to.

According to the plot of the film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, Javier has to choose from three women. In life, he chose Penelope just during the filming of this film

One of the most beautiful couples Hollywood took shape only 15 years after the first acquaintance. Attraction overtook them on the set of the film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”. To get used to the role of a temperamental Spanish woman, madly, in every sense, in love with Bardem's hero, Penelope had to try, but then Javier himself volunteered to help his co-star. And they succeeded perfectly: Cruz received a well-deserved Oscar, and their joint rehearsals grew into a passionate romance.

Despite the fact that both Javier and Penelope stubbornly denied that their relationship went far beyond friendship, they could not hide their passionate hugs and kisses from all curious people. But they managed to get married secretly from journalists. The event was quite modest and closed for stars of their magnitude - only the closest ones were present. Bardem, 41, walked his 36-year-old bride down the aisle in a John Galliano dress in July 2010.

Happy together

After the wedding, the newlyweds retired to Madrid, and Pe practically stopped appearing in public. However, the reason for her seclusion became obvious a few months later, when she was photographed with a noticeably rounded tummy. The latter, by the way, almost did not prevent the expectant mother from continuing to work in the film “Pirates” Caribbean Sea: On Stranger Tides”, where she played her beloved Angelica. Only in a number of scenes did she have to use a double - it was her younger sister Monica.

Their first-born Leo, Leonardo Encinas Cruz, was born on January 25, 2011. The parents did not show the long-awaited baby to outsiders for quite some time and refused to discuss his appearance with journalists. Only six months later, Penelope told Vogue magazine what emotions overwhelmed her from the moment she became a mother.

If desired, the star couple can be seen on the streets of Madrid. Happy parents often go for walks with kids

And that she intends not only to raise her child, but also to protect him as much as possible from unhealthy public attention: “I want my son - or children, if I have more of them - to grow up in an anonymous atmosphere. The fact that his father and I chose this kind of work does not give anyone the right to interfere in our private lives.”

And just recently, on July 22, 2013, on the same day as the British royal couple, Penelope gave birth to Leo’s sister. The girl was named Luna Encinas Cruz. Both children, according to Spanish tradition, bear both the surname of both mother and father ( full name Javier -Javier Angel Encinas Bardem). The girl’s name was also kept secret for some time, until it was found out and published by a Spanish magazine. And Penelope still hides her face from paparazzi cameras when they catch them on the street.

Penelope and Javier do not give up their profession and even continue to act together

Cruz, having already become a mother twice, although she continues to act in films, tries to devote as much time as possible to her children, without abandoning them to their grandmother and nanny. As during both pregnancies, I am now relaxing at sea with my family.

She is one of the most beautiful and sexy actresses of our time. He is Europe's shyest sex symbol. Last week, the married couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem visited the Mother See for the first time. Pe together with Johnny Depp presented New film about Pirates of the Caribbean, Javier conducted Master Class for aspiring actors. The stars didn't give any joint interview: refusal to discuss personal life with the press is almost the main component of the family happiness of these sultry Spaniards.

Different tastes
An interesting point: the fateful meeting of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, now the most famous married couple in Spain, could have taken place not on the set of the film “Ham, Ham” in 1991, but three years earlier? - on the set of a video clip
"La Fuerza" del Destino"to the composition of the pop group "Mecano". Pe, a Madrid high school student and acting student, adored the trio's work (“Every time I hear the first chords of their song “Hijo”
de la Luna”, it brings tears to my eyes!”). Therefore, having passed the casting and received the role of the protagonist’s girlfriend, Cruz was as happy as a child: “I remember they called me and said: “You can squeal! Are you the star of their new video!” I thought this was the happiest day of my life." As for the promising, although completely unclaimed young actor Bardem, legend has it, he was one of the contenders for the role of the main character. It can’t be said that he was incredibly flattered by the fact that he was invited to the “Mecano” video? - Javier was never keen on pop music: “Do I still listen to rock? - AC/DC, for example, or David Bowie" However, “I needed to somehow earn a living, especially since starring in videos isn’t like delivering trays.” Be that as it may, who knows, maybe Bardem and Cruz would have met on the set music video, if not for the Catalan director Bigas Luna, or rather his assistant. He remembered Javier’s colorful appearance from one TV show and sent him a script called “The Ages of Lulu.” The story was still the same! A young woman, in search of happiness, decides on the most risky sexual adventures with sadists, gays, transsexuals... Atheist Bardem was not at all shocked by the script, he immediately agreed to play Jimmy? - a gay killer. Thus, there was no question of any filming in the video: Javier needed to prepare for the role - read Freud, books on criminology and visit unconventional night spots. As for Pe, shortly after the release of the “La Fuerza del Destino” video, the Teleсinco channel offered the “charming girl in the leather jacket from the video” a position talk show host for teenagers.

First meeting? - not the last!
So, they met in the fall of 1991 on the set of the film “Ham, Ham”? - a story about a brutal matador who seduces both a young girl and her mother... If by the beginning of filming Javier was already a kind of sex symbol, then fans of the young TV personality Pe There were only teenagers. By the way, after reading the script, Cruz was slightly confused. On the one hand, the first role in the present in a movie, on the other? - the story was so sensitive... “Naturally, my parents, as sensible people, told me: “Girl, what kind of script is this? Your heroine is obsessed with sex! She’s being seduced by some stallions!” But I thought and decided: “Yes, erotic scenes await you, but, excuse me, you are going to become an actress, not a prude.”
Many secular chroniclers are convinced that after the first meeting, future laureates of the Os-
kar" remained indifferent to each other. Firstly, 22-year-old Javier was too old for 17-year-old Penelope. Moreover, he was looking not in the direction of the girl from the video, but in the direction of the director’s assistant? - a 20-year-old girl named Christina Pales. At first, Pales treated Bardem with contempt: “All his film characters were too depraved. When I discovered that he was very shy and loved Shakespeare’s sonnets, I was shocked.” The relationship between Javier and Christina lasted for 15 years.

Hello and goodbye
IN early XXI centuries Penelope and Javier were still just good friends, however, due to their fantastic busyness, they crossed paths extremely rarely, except at film forums... Or in the Madrid apartments of director Pedro Almodóvar, a close friend of both, for whom, by the way, they also managed to star together in the drama “Living Flesh” - that time from time throwing parties for his friends. And also in beginning of XXI centuries, Cruz and Bardem were the most famous Spanish actors in the United States. Javier starred alongside Johnny Depp in Julian Schnabel's arthouse drama Before Night Falls. Pe was busy filming the psychological thriller Vanilla Sky, where her partner was Tom Cruise, who, notably, had just broken up with Nicole Kidman. Javier, who was still living with Cristina Pales, did everything he could to avoid the paparazzi. And Pe, on the contrary, did not hide her tender attitude towards Cruise at all? - both on the set and near the entrance to catering establishments, where people with cameras were constantly crowded... After the American reciprocated and their romance became public knowledge, the couple moved into a huge mansion in the Hollywood Hills, rented by Tom.
Penelope, raised as a good Catholic, naturally feared a negative reaction to her love interest from her parents. Spanish tabloids wrote that Pe's father, Eduardo, was shocked that his daughter was living with a Hollywood actor. He even said in his hearts: “I would prefer that my daughter started dating a poor man in Madrid than with a twice divorced man, and even a Scientologist!” But my mother, Encarna, was worried about another aspect. A friend of the actress admitted to a London tabloid correspondent: “Encarna believed that Penelope should have met with Nicole Kidman. Pe needed to look her straight in the eye and tell her the truth. And then explain to their adopted children that it was not she who broke up their parents’ marriage.”
On the other hand, the romance between Pe and Tom was very, very strange: the couple rarely went out into the world and never discussed the prospect family life. Did Penelope attend the Church of Scientology? The tabloids claimed that she visited. The actress herself remains deathly silent on this matter, but people remember very well her interview with quite unexpected confessions from the series: “Perhaps I will leave cinema soon. How long? I don’t know, but I need to become a professional photographer and also find myself.” Secular chroniclers believed that such statements could only be made under the influence of Tom.
In 2004, Cruz left Cruz. The novel ended unexpectedly, “without comment.” If Tom quickly found a replacement girlfriend? - Katie Holmes, as we know, became her, then Pe chose to “suffer” in the company of the unconventional Pedro Almodóvar. Returning to her homeland, Cruz plunged headlong into work. In 2006, the dramatic film “The Return” was released, which brought Pe his first Oscar nomination. As in the case of Nicole Kidman, after breaking up with Tom, Penelope became one of the most sought-after actresses of our time, and over time, a laureate of the American Film Academy.

Marriage in Spanish
Journalists are convinced that the romance between Pe and Javier was bound to happen, sooner or later. All of Spain, and not only Spain, was waiting for him. When, after filming Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona ended, Cruz and Bardem rented a shared apartment in the center of Madrid, many society columnists breathed a sigh of relief: “Finally, this long-term friendship has borne fruit!” The first Spanish actor to win an Oscar and the first Spanish actress to do the same got married secretly last summer in the Bahamas. On January 22, 2011, the stars had a son, Leo, in Los Angeles.
Are Spain's most famous couple happy today? If you believe the couple’s friends, the relationship between Javier and Pe is very much reminiscent of the relationship between Juan and Maria from “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” - the relationship becomes clear so violently that plates and cups are used. And if this information is true, well, the Spaniards are hot people. And if not... We still won’t know the whole truth. Penelope once said: “Neither I nor my husband are going to discuss our personal lives with journalists, much less invite a tabloid photographer to our home.” But - you can be sure! - the editors of these same tabloids will always find a reason to come up with something about this sultry and very mysterious couple.

Text: Igor Ochakovsky

The wedding of the brown-eyed, burning senorita and the temperamental macho took place in the Bahamas.

The wedding ceremony of world cinema stars took place quite modestly in the house of one of the couple’s friends. Together with the newlyweds, this event was celebrated only by the relatives of the bride and groom, as well as their closest friends. Big money didn't have to spend it - not even Wedding Dress It didn’t cost the 36-year-old bride a penny: it was made for Penelope by her friend, British fashion designer John Galliano.

The first Spaniard to win a golden statuette

Javier Bardem was born into a famous acting family. His grandparents, mother, brother and sister are actors, and he is also the nephew of the famous Spanish director Juan Antonio Bardem.
Before getting involved in cinema, Javier tried himself in different guises: he played for the Spanish rugby team, studied painting at the School of Arts and Crafts in Spain, but, realizing that professional artist he will not become, he decided to devote himself to acting. Thanks to his masculine appearance, which is very suitable for passionate and aggressive characters, Javier began to get just such roles.
In 1994, Bardem received several prestigious Spanish film awards, and in 1995, the Goya Award (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar). Subsequently, film awards rained down on him like from a cornucopia. Within a few years, Bardem became one of the main actors in Spain and the first actor from this country to conquer Hollywood.
In 2006, Javier worked with English director Michael Newell on the film “Love in the Time of Cholera,” based on novel of the same name Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and in 2007 - with Woody Allen on the film “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona”. And soon he received his well-deserved Oscar - for the best male role background in one of best films 2008 "No Country for Old Men" by the Coen Brothers. Bardem became the first Spanish actor in history to win the coveted statuette.

Hollywood submitted to her

Your first feature film future famous director filmed in 1980. The daughter of a small merchant and a hairdresser, Penelope Cruz has been starring in music videos and TV series since the age of 15, was the host of a program for teenagers, and in 1991 she made her debut in the film “The Greek Labyrinth.” However, this Spanish beauty became famous only in 1997, when she starred in a small but memorable role in Pedro Almodóvar’s film “Living Flesh.” It was Almodóvar who became Cruz’s “godfather” in cinema, and she became one of his wonderful muses.
Since the early 2000s, Penelope began to slowly but surely conquer Hollywood: she starred in “Untamed Hearts,” “Captain Corelli’s Choice” and, finally, “Vanilla Sky” by Cameron Crowe.
In Cruz's career, intellectual films easily gave way to action and adventure. In 2005, she played one of the leading roles in the film “Sahara” along with her boyfriend Matthew McConaughey, and in 2006, together with her friend Salma Hayek, in the film “Bandits.”
In the same year, Cruz received one of the most prestigious awards: the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best female role in Almodóvar's film "The Return".
One of the most successful years in Penelope’s work was 2008 - she starred in two the most interesting films. This is “Elegy” - the story of the relationship between a professor and a young Cuban woman, and the sensational film “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona”, the heroine of which Maria Elena brought the long-awaited Oscar to its performer.
And in 2009, another success: the drama “Broken Embraces” by the same Pedro Almodóvar, nominated for the Palme d’Or, Golden Globe and BAFTA.

10 facts from life

1. Penelope Cruz has a brother, Eduardo, a football player, and a sister, Monica, a flamenco dancer and television actress.
2. In Spain they easily call her Pe. In Hollywood, behind our backs, they call her the Spanish Charm and the Madrid Madonna.
3. Penelope actually does not have a secondary education. She studied at school for only two years, learning science mainly at home. Subsequently she studied at the National Conservatory.
4. Mom wanted her daughter to become a ballerina. But at the age of 15, Pe received a contract for TV and abandoned classical dance for the sake of an acting career.
5. Does not like jewelry, believing that bright trinkets distract attention from herself. But he almost never takes off the jade ring, a gift from his grandmother, from his finger.
6. Penelope is a terrible sleepyhead. Can sleep up to 18 hours at a time.
7. She is a vegetarian. Culinary preferences: French fries, papaya, Japanese salads.
8. In addition to English and Spanish, the star speaks fluent French and Italian.
9. Bad habits: spends his earned money on all sorts of nonsense, smokes like a locomotive and drinks too much Coca-Cola.
10. She is one of those extremely beautiful women who almost never use makeup - because it is unnecessary.

Javier persuaded 16-year-old Penelope to star in an erotic scene

Avid film fans have been waiting for the wedding of Cruz and Bardem for a long time. Penelope and Javier met back in 1992 on the set of the film Hamon, Hamon (“Ham, Ham”). She was 16 then, he was 23. The master of erotic cinema, director Bigas Luna, had been eyeing talented girl, but she was too young to realize his fantasies on the screen. For the aspiring actress, this was only her second film role, and she had to play an erotic scene with Bardem. Because of her shyness, which Cruz has not yet gotten rid of, she was very worried, cried and refused to film. Only Javier was able to calm her down, asking the director to postpone filming the scene for one day. In the evening, she and Cruz rehearsed, talked, and in the end she was able to trust the actor on the set.
By the end of filming, Penelope and Javier were already bosom friends. But things didn’t go any further, although, as Bigas Luna says, “Javier fell in love with Pe immediately, completely and irrevocably.”
However, despite four erotic scenes, no spark ran between the future lovers. Although on the screen their passion looked genuine.
Later, they met more than once on the set of different directors, but the decisive role in the history of this couple was played by Woody Allen’s film “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona,” where they played passionate lovers. It seemed to Penelope that Allen was filming too quickly, and therefore she did not have time to get used to the character. The actress shared her thoughts with an old friend, and he offered his help: he asked Cruz to tell her how she sees her character. What happened next, history is silent. But, they say, the next day both actors came to the set with glowing faces.
Since then, the lovers have not been separated. True, to all the journalists’ questions about her affair with Javier, Penelope started an old song: “This is not true. He is my friend and most best actor in the world".
Meanwhile, the couple was spotted at one of the parties at the New York Film Festival, then numerous witnesses saw Javier and Penelope go to the hotel after the party. The love conspiracy came to naught when the paparazzi captured the lovers in the Maldives.
They appeared separately on the carpet of the last Oscars, but at the Miramax Oscar after-party, the actor introduced his beloved mother, 68-year-old actress Pilar Bardem, who was delighted with her son’s girlfriend. Javier moved to Penelope's West Hollywood residence. And in May it became known that the beautiful Cruz was pregnant. There was no need to even guess who the father of the unborn child was. All that remained was to wait for the wedding date.

Was not consistent

As for the personal life of the now husband and wife Javier and Penelope, not everything is clear. The charismatic Bardem, oddly enough, turned out to be more constant than the beautiful Cruz. Long years the actor lived happily with his girlfriend Christina Pales, an English translator, whom he met before meeting Penelope. "I'm in love with my teacher in English“, he joked, “and many of our lessons take place in bed.”
But Penelope was not constancy. Conquering Hollywood, the beauty also conquered men's hearts. The history of her office romances can be traced through her filmography, as well as through the high-profile Hollywood breakups that followed her. love stories. Rumor has it that Tom Cruise broke up with Nicole Kidman precisely because of the fatal beauty Penelope, with whom he starred in Vanilla Sky. They dated for two and a half years. Arriving home, Penelope shared with Javier the details of her relationship with the star, calling Tom the most generous man in the world. However, things never came to a wedding - Tom married Katie Holmes, and Penelope took on her career even more recklessly. True, after breaking up, they remained friends, and Penelope was even one of the first to see the actor’s newborn daughter from Katie Holmes.

After Cruise, the actress’s chosen one was another Hollywood actor, Matthew McConaughey. Cruz was with him for two years, and Bardem again turned out to be the confidant in the affairs of the heart of the sultry brunette. He jealously dissuaded his beloved from having children with McConaughey, because she new fan- he was like a child himself: he lived in a trailer, flatly refusing to move into a regular house, drank a lot and generally showed irresponsibility in every possible way, which ultimately became the reason for their breakup. By the way, Penelope also stole Matthew from Winona Ryder. Among her lovers are also called Hollywood actors Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage and Spanish musician Nacho Cano.

- I have a very good attitude towards the actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Clearly expressed southern European characters. It suits them very well, in my opinion, to be with each other. Both are hot - he is tough, she is too in some ways. It seems to me that if they have family scandals, the whole street will know about it, and soon the whole world, given their popularity. And I absolutely agree that if you are going to get married, then it should be in the Bahamas. Wonderful! Although I haven't been there, I'm sure it's great there. I've heard some people call their relationship a PR thing, but such people can afford to do without such things and just get married for love. As for my attitude towards Penelope as a woman, I am not close to this texture.
The first film that I remember with her participation is “Bandits”. It is shown regularly. Cruz starred in it with Salma Hayek. I even confuse them sometimes. I think it's a great movie, the girls have a blast there.

Olga DENIKOVSKAYA,
Art Director advertising agency"DNA":

Marital unions are, as they say, “for the rest of your life” among famous actors happen very rarely. In my opinion, Demi Moore with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt with Jennifer Aniston lasted quite a long time. As a rule, unions famous people- this is a PR stunt. I think this can be said in relation to Cruz and Bardem.
To put it mildly, I don’t admire the actress, and many agree with me on this. Penelope's husband is inferior to her in fame.
I hope marriage won’t hurt her, and pregnancy would be good for Cruz. I would celebrate the wedding in a small circle of friends, somewhere in Amsterdam, where you can “break the outrages.” And for them - the Bahamas. Firstly, they can afford it, and secondly, this is a well-known resort, where, again, they can get a good exposure.

Anastasia TYUKHAEVA,
photographer:

It seems to me that this is a very successful union - from different points of view: show business, creativity, family relations. They should be fine. They are both quite serious people in their relationship; they dated for two years before getting married. It must be said that both Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem know how to choose their partners. They met with regulars on sexuality ratings, and they themselves constantly find themselves at the top of such lists. If we talk about the acting charisma of Cruz and Bardem, what is given is given. The film work of both is impressive. They contributed huge contribution in the development of Spanish cinema, and I think we can already say that they have entered the history of the world.

Dmitry DOROFEEV,
radio presenter, music editor of radio "Hit" (Irkutsk) :

Penelope Cruz is undoubtedly beautiful, charming, interesting girl and actress. But I can’t call myself a big fan of her talent and I don’t follow her life too closely, although, of course, I heard about the wedding. Well, all that remains is to be happy for her and her husband and colleague and wish them happiness. But it seems to me that, perhaps, with changes in her personal life, with the advent of her loved one, Penelope Cruz began to devote less time to her film career. After all, over the past three or four years she has not had any big roles (I mean a box office-grossing movie). Or maybe she acts in unknown films to a wide circle viewers and I just haven’t heard about it?.. In any case, for women - and actresses are no exception - personal happiness is also a kind of indicator of success.

Olesya SIVACH,
PR manager of the Ershi recreation center:

In my opinion, Penelope Cruz is one of the few actresses who attracts the viewer's attention in any film. I like Penelope, she's not only beautiful woman, but also an excellent actress, any film with her participation becomes successful, she takes on different roles, which she succeeds brilliantly. Most of all I remember a film called “All About My Mother”, where the actress showed her acting skills in dramatic genre. And in the film “Bandits” Penelope Cruz fully revealed her Spanish temperament and simply hypnotized everyone with her beauty and charm. I follow celebrity news, and Penelope Cruz's wedding is naturally one of the hottest topics in the celebrity world right now. I wish the couple great happiness, because a woman like Penelope knows exactly what kind of man she needs.

Never heard of Soviet song with chorus “Don’t talk about love, everything has been said about it. Heart, true to love, must remain silent". But if they had heard, they would have signed every word.

Penelope Cruz. Roman holiday

May 2015. Rome

After a walk with the children in the Villa Borghese park Penelope Cruz I felt like I had run a marathon. It seemed to her that the children were no less tired and would immediately fall asleep at the hotel like the dead, but they got a second wind. The actress had to re-sing Leonardo And Moon almost all children's and simply known to her lyrical songs, before they calmed down. Penelope once again silently thanked Heaven for karaoke: no matter where in the world she was filming, on the first free evening she went to look for a karaoke bar - so she accumulated a varied repertoire.

But this evening she had clearly had enough of singing, as well as walking. Lying exhausted on the sofa, she even doubted that she had acted wisely by dragging Leonardo and Luna to Italy to shoot the film Zoolander 2. A boy of four and a half years old and a girl of less than two could hardly derive any educational benefit from meeting with The Eternal City, and attempts to keep track of the kids excited by the change of scenery forced Penelope Cruz wish that nature had endowed her with an extra pair of hands and eyes in the back of her head.

On the other hand, what Penelope Cruz was to do if there was a chance to remind about yourself Hollywood turned up precisely at the moment when Javi is separated from his family half the world and there is no way to leave the children with him?

Actress Penelope Cruz refused to star in the fifth part Pirates of the Caribbean, because I couldn’t afford to spend six months in Australia. Actor Javier Bardem took her place aboard the pirate ship. A Penelope Cruz, just like her namesake from Greek mythology, stayed at home in Madrid - to look after her son and daughter and prepare to move into an apartment near the park recently purchased for 2.5 million euros Retiro. But she didn’t want to deal with moving. Penelope Cruz willingly agreed with the arguments Javier Bardem: the new house has good security, and the proximity to a huge park is a plus for a family with small children. But the old home had its charms.

Penelope Cruz I’m used to her kitchen being always full of cats. “Actually, we have only one cat,- she said. - Name is Cappuccina. But through the open window on the first floor, her homeless friends constantly climb in on us. I let them all eat, and then Javi puts the extra ones outside until the next feeding.”

Actress Penelope Cruz she understood that no one would allow her to open a cat cafeteria in a prestigious house near Retiro. It was a pity to part with our four-legged neighbors, and the prospect of communicating with the movers was not encouraging. Penelope Cruz grabbed all the good reasons to delay until returning Javier Bardem, who knew how to inspire awe in people without further ado. Offer Ben Stiller go to Rome, see American friends and play a small role in Model male 2 it couldn't have come at a better time.

Penelope Cruz I remembered very well what I was guided by when packing for the trip after all Leo and Luna.

“I didn’t have children so that grandmothers and nannies would sit with them, - admits Penelope Cruz. - With the advent of my family, I stopped being a workaholic who lives only by work. Previously, I was so afraid that they would fire me, forget about me, or stop sending me scripts, that I agreed to everything. I made three or four films a year, hardly rested, I even watched cinematic dreams, with extras and camera cranes. For a long time I did not decide on motherhood, because I was not sure that I could devote all of myself to it. But when the first child was born, life itself was divided into two unequal parts: in a smaller part - a little work for pleasure, in a larger part - going with the whole family to the beach, playing on the carpet, lying on the sofa, Italian food and good books.”

Sighing, Penelope Cruz got up from the sofa and went to find out what her children needed this time. She hoped she wouldn't spoil them to the point of disgrace while Javi couldn't stop it. The actress always admired her husband's ability to show severity without detracting from the enthusiastic love that Leo and Luna had for him.

However, with every year of marriage Penelope Cruz She became more and more convinced that her husband was a genius, omnipotent, omniscient. It’s just a pity that it’s not omnipresent.

“When we met, Javi was 22 years old and I was 17.- says the actress when journalists manage to extract at least a word from her about her personal life. “But I immediately realized that he was extraordinary.” It seemed to me that nothing was impossible for him.”.

Penelope Cruz never explained why, having understood everything about Javier Bardem at first glance, she kept an eye on him for another 16 years, but was happy that he still waited for her.

Javier Bardem. Sea captain

May 2015. Byron Bay, Australia

Another flat pebble jumped away from the one sitting on the sand Javier Bardem and disappeared into the dark water. The last time the 46-year-old actor was on this beach was with Penelope Cruz and children when they visited him in early spring. Then Javier Bardem, generally not inclined to public displays of affection, almost kissed his wife to death in front of the entire beach - he missed her so much. Even now it seemed to him that he heard Penelope’s laughter, saw her running barefoot in the sand, collecting toys scattered by children.

When Javier Bardem met a young actress on the set of a film Ham, ham in 1991, he did not even imagine that she could become even more beautiful.

“On set, Javi's feelings for Penelope were obvious to everyone except herself.- said the director of the film Bigas Luna. - She considered him something of an older brother, adviser and protector..

Javier Bardem for many years he put up with this role, believing that he was not good enough to offer himself Penelope Cruz as a life partner.

“My own brother called me the Minotaur, the man with the head of a bull, - laughs Javier Bardem. - Honestly, I never understood why people like to look at a brick face with a crooked nose and stupid eyes. And listen to my creepy voice. Every morning when I brush my teeth in front of the mirror, my reflection scares me.".

And the actor also has a reputation: one of the Spanish filmmakers said that Javier Bardem carries an unexploded bomb. What could such a monster give to a tender Penelope Cruz who loves to sing and can’t get past a stray cat?

A lot of things, as it turned out, when on the set of the film Woody Allen Vicky Christina Barcelona they stopped beating around the bush and asked themselves: “Why aren’t we together? Why do we continue to look for happiness on the side, if after all these years we still haven’t found anyone closer to each other?”

Javier Bardem I no longer remembered who raised this topic. More likely Penelope Cruz- he wouldn't dare. They sat together in a small bar, and Pe, who cannot drink at all, after a couple of glasses, told her faithful knight Xavi everything that was on her mind.

"You - the only man which I'm sure of“, she admitted. - The only one with whom you don’t want to think about bad things. When I'm with you, I don't think about what could go wrong, invent the most unpleasant scenarios, and don't beat myself up over what hasn't happened yet. I'm such a coward, Javi - I would have gone crazy long ago if you hadn't caught me every time I started to fall. I have never met stronger and kinder men than you. I want to be with you, but I don’t know if you want to see such a restless chicken next to you all the time.”.

He didn't wait for her to cry. He took her hand, led her out of the semi-darkness of the bar under the lace lanterns of Barcelona and for the first time truly kissed her, as a loved one, as he had dreamed of kissing for 16 long years.

Javier Bardem lay back on the sand and let the ocean lick his bare feet. Before Penelope Cruz came into his life, he was also a rather restless chicken - a notorious hypochondriac. Even the most insignificant illness made him think of a sudden untimely death. On the set of “Pirates...” Javi worked for hours up to his neck in icy water, had colds and constantly got hit in the head from positive characters. He really wanted to complain to Penelope, but he held on, knowing that she would immediately drop everything and rush to save him. He didn’t even tell his mother that he was sick, so that she wouldn’t accidentally give him away. I fought my fears in silence. In the end, Pe is already sewing up there alone with two children - she has absolutely no need for a third whining overgrown baby on the other side of the world.