Penelope Cruz Quotes & Sayings

I came to Los Angeles for the first time in 1994. I spoke no English. I only knew how to say two sentences: 'How are you?' and 'I want to work with Johnny Depp.' — Penelope Cruz

When I read a script, I try not to judge the characters. I try to have an open mind and really see what it makes me feel. — Penelope Cruz

I think superstition has a lot to do with fear: the less, the better. — Penelope Cruz

It's very much like a torture sometimes, the process of trying to get rid of an accent. — Penelope Cruz

My first fear was about the devil, when I was around fire, something I saw in a movie. I think it's about pain, in whichever form it comes. — Penelope Cruz

When I was 16, I got 'Jamon, Jamon.' Of course, I had to lie about my age. And I had to lie to my parents about the content of the script. — Penelope Cruz

I am a big fan of photography, more of being behind the camera - so when I get the opportunity to work with such great photographers, I always try and learn from their technique. — Penelope Cruz

I want to work with Johnny Depp. — Penelope Cruz

Especially when you are advertising a product, I talk to the photographer and we create a character - it always gives you more freedom because it makes it less about yourself. — Penelope Cruz

There was a point where I was making four movies a year. I was always on a set. I had no stories to tell. I was feeling empty. My life was just luggage and hotels and from set to set, from character to character. And one day, I said, 'And where is mine?' You know? And the moment I started to feel that fear, I stopped and I slowed down. — Penelope Cruz

I don't do Twitter, Facebook; none of that. My email I do from my Blackberry or my iPhone. — Penelope Cruz

My ambition is to be happy. — Penelope Cruz

I don't play comedy as comedy. That would be the biggest trap. I think about the characters and their situations. Then you don't have to worry where the laugh is going to be. But comedy is harder than drama. — Penelope Cruz

It feels great and it's very beautiful when you can bring someone of your own nationality into a story, where even the historic element of it is important. I loved that I could use my own accent for the character. — Penelope Cruz

Maybe I'll make one movie a year, maybe two, but it's not going to be more than that because I have other priorities now. — Penelope Cruz

I love learning on the set. But, directing is not something I want to do. — Penelope Cruz

It doesn't happen every day, but many nights my dreams are like a movie. I don't see normal movement - I see things in very complicated shots. That's why I do remember many of them. — Penelope Cruz

I never want to lie about my age. If I look around at the actresses I admire, they are all women who have not fought growing older, but embraced it and been proud of it - women like Sophia Loren or Audrey Hepburn. — Penelope Cruz

I have stepped off the relationship scene to come to terms with myself. I have spent most of my adult life being 'someone's girlfriend', and now I am happy being single. — Penelope Cruz

Johnny Depp is so special that he is like a Martian. In fact, that's what I call him, Martian. — Penelope Cruz

My plate is full with just acting. I want to focus on that, and then maybe direct in the future. — Penelope Cruz

Madrid is what I call home, but also the States. — Penelope Cruz

The thing that really makes me happy is the real work and rehearsing and creating the character and the process of making the movie. Hollywood's not real. — Penelope Cruz

I don't think I am beautiful. I can look good and I can look ugly. — Penelope Cruz

I love the Italian culture - it's a beautiful culture. I love the language, the Italian people, their music, their attitudes ... I just love it! Sometimes I think I'm an Italian trapped in a Spanish woman's body. — Penelope Cruz

I spend so much time living by myself - mostly in hotels - and I pick up cats when I'm feeling particularly lonely. — Penelope Cruz

I think magic is very related to happiness. So it is not there all the time, but there are beautiful moments of magic in everyone's life. — Penelope Cruz

Age holds absolutely no fear for me. There is so much enjoyment ahead. — Penelope Cruz

There are roles I have said no to, but for different reasons. And, I never talk about those because I feel it's disrespectful to say, 'Oh, I said no to this project or that other project.' I'd rather talk about the ones that I said yes to and the reasons why. — Penelope Cruz

I love Salma Hayek; we've been friends for a really long time. I admire how she has come such a long way and always remained grounded and who she is. She never compromises to follow her vision, and she is loyal. Such qualities only mark the great stars. — Penelope Cruz

When I was 16 or 17, when I started, I never even considered not doing a project. I just wanted to work. — Penelope Cruz

You cannot live your life looking at yourself from someone else's point of view. — Penelope Cruz

I always knew I wanted a family because of the way I grew up. Family has always been the most important thing. — Penelope Cruz

I don't know if I believe in marriage. I believe in family, love and children. — Penelope Cruz

I have fear, always, on the set. Insecurity to the point where the first week I always think I could be fired. I think that's a fear most actors have. — Penelope Cruz

I've worked myself to exhaustion before. I was so young, and I thought I could do everything; it was just too much for my body and my mind. — Penelope Cruz

I am not somebody who likes to give advice, or anything like that, unless it's my closest friends or family. — Penelope Cruz

It's a good thing to be old. Because when you get older, that means you haven't died yet, right? And when I do get older, I want to have the grace to be proud of it, not to lie about it or try to fight it. — Penelope Cruz

Every relationship ends, until maybe you find one that lasts forever. — Penelope Cruz

I have had a very singular kind of life since I started working so young, so I am very used to traveling, working, taking time for myself. — Penelope Cruz

He can have my body, but he will never have my soul. never! — Penelope Cruz

I was very superstitious when I was a teenager, and I had to fight against that because it made me feel anxious. — Penelope Cruz

I am someone who worries a lot. I'm always worrying 'what if?' Now I'm a mum - there will be worries for the rest of my life, but they're not about me anymore. — Penelope Cruz

I have been hearing gossip and lies since I began working. When I was 17, I used to get very angry because I opened a magazine and I saw myself in a picture on a motorcycle, and the headline was, 'I'm getting married next month.' — Penelope Cruz

I am amazed about how everyone wants to know about my love life. They whisper to me, 'Tell me the truth? Is it true?' Who cares? Because we have this job, we are to say to everybody what we do, or with whom we sleep? It's a bit absurd, but that's why everybody lies so much. — Penelope Cruz

I just try not to label myself in any way. I just have an allergy to labels in general. I can tell you that I am surrounded by very strong women and that I really appreciate that, but I'd rather not label myself. — Penelope Cruz

In Spain, actresses work until they are old. That's my plan. — Penelope Cruz

To be able to explore the genre of the musical is nice. It was great to be able to sing professionally, for the first time, and dance, which was something that I did growing up, but I had not done for many, many years. — Penelope Cruz

I try to eat healthily, but I love fried food and bad things. Give me a plate of bread, some oil and salt and I'm happy. But you can't eat like this all the time. — Penelope Cruz

I used to dance for seventeen years -classical ballet, which was very disciplined. I like yoga and Pilates, but I don't have the discipline to go to the gym. — Penelope Cruz

There is a magic factor that is sometimes on a movie set, that is a really, really beautiful thing that cannot be compared to anything else, if you are somebody that is really passionate about acting or directing or the world of movies. — Penelope Cruz

I try to look at the whole thing and say 'yes' to the projects that I cannot stop thinking about. If I read a script and the subject stays with me - then that's when I want to go to work. — Penelope Cruz

In my house every Sunday, everybody was cleaning the house. There was always music, and everybody was dancing, sometimes naked, around the house. Not hippie, but very free. — Penelope Cruz

My parents owned a hair salon, so I learned a few tricks there. I can cut people's hair - if they let me. — Penelope Cruz

I love Spanish food. My diet is the Mediterranean diet, which is good food. I eat well. — Penelope Cruz

I would always cast Meryl Streep for everything. I would do with something inspired by the work of Guy Bourdin, my favorite photographer. — Penelope Cruz

When I start a movie, the first day, I feel like a duck. — Penelope Cruz

Unfortunately, I am very aware of editing and I look at the monitor too much. Sometimes the monitor can become your worst enemy because you can, consciously or unconsciously, start editing yourself. — Penelope Cruz

I like roles that people don't recognize me in. — Penelope Cruz

I try to do as much as possible for every character. Some of them, it is easier to do the research because you have either real examples that you work with, maybe some specific person that inspires you in that case, or the performances from other people, or the characters, or a character from a book. — Penelope Cruz

My definition of beauty is without rules. It can be the face of a beautiful 90-year-old woman that is full of stories and emotion. Beauty is what somebody's eyes communicate. — Penelope Cruz

Making a living out of acting sounded like science-fiction when I was growing up. I didn't know anyone around me who lived from anything related to art. — Penelope Cruz

I've seen my grandmothers grow old and they are so beautiful, every wrinkle in their face tells a story. I want to feel that in 30 years. I would always choose that kind of beauty over that comes from having too much done to yourself. — Penelope Cruz

You can always keep learning with acting, because the school is life and yourself and your friends and your relationships. I'm fascinated by it! It's infinito! — Penelope Cruz

I was 11 when I first said I wanted to become an actress, and everyone looked at me as if I had said I wanted to go to the moon. — Penelope Cruz

I never grew up dreaming about a wedding - I don't think about things like that. I don't know how to explain it. All I care about is to be happy. — Penelope Cruz

I have a little bit of an addiction to work. So I'm always hiding in the bathroom with my Blackberry to work when I'm on holiday. — Penelope Cruz

There are so many designers that I love, and I'm so lucky that I get to work with so many of them and sometimes spend time with them. As an actress, you get to go to these events and wear their things - it's fun, but it is what it is. I don't put a lot of time into it, but I respect what they do. — Penelope Cruz

I'm strong and opinionated. Those qualities brought me a lot of problems since I was a little girl in school, saying 'I don't agree' and fighting with the children. It's part of my curiosity for life. — Penelope Cruz

I am living for every day and trying to have less fear, less worry. But I have always worried about everything; it's in my nature. It's the thing that makes me suffer the most. — Penelope Cruz

It is a revolutionary experience. That's the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second. Nature is very wise and gives you nine months to prepare, but in that moment-when you see that face, you are transformed forever. — Penelope Cruz

I had a very curly perm in the '80s, thanks to the 'Way You Make Me Feel' Michael Jackson video. I liked the girl in it. — Penelope Cruz

I only drive in movies. I know that's very weird to hear for an American. I have a weird relationship with it. I know how to drive, but I never went to take the test. — Penelope Cruz

We need to stop the dying and start the living; stop the hunger and start the hoping. — Penelope Cruz

I really dislike it when the media asks young actresses, normally when they're about 23, how they feel about ageing. There are other things to worry about. — Penelope Cruz

[Winning an Oscar] was a beautiful thing that happened. It is in my house, and every time I look at, I see all the people who are a part of it, all the people who gave me opportunities to work, gave me opportunities to make a living at this thing [acting] that was a dream for me, growing up. And I got to do it, and then again and again and again, and make a living out of being an actress. — Penelope Cruz

The good thing is that I have always had wonderful people around me. It's dangerous when you start earning a lot of money and you become famous when you are too young. — Penelope Cruz

As a kid, I had a lot of energy; but the ballet lessons made me calm - this pleased my mother. — Penelope Cruz

Sometimes, when things go well on a set, or when you are working with somebody like Pedro Almodovar, Woody Allen, Rob Marshall or somebody so talented and so inspiring, it's really beautiful, what happens there. — Penelope Cruz

Even if you were aware of children and felt compassion, when you have your own, it multiplies. It breaks your heart to know that there are so many children in the world suffering so much. — Penelope Cruz

It's great working with my sister, because we are very close as a family - my brother, my sister and myself. We have a great relationship. — Penelope Cruz

I never felt, 'Oh, I think I look good.' I always tend to be more in the insecure side. And I thought that has always been a way to protect myself. Because I don't trust the good feelings that can come from that. — Penelope Cruz

There is a part of your brain that has to stop when you're acting. You have to be in the moment and dare to fly. Words can't be on your mind. — Penelope Cruz

I was raised Catholic, but then I discovered Buddhism, and I used to have a boyfriend who was a Scientologist, and they are all good religions that help people. As far as I'm concerned, you can have all three religions at once and it's okay! — Penelope Cruz

I have a strong personality, and I say what I think. — Penelope Cruz

In my everyday life, I just wear jeans, t-shirts and trainers - if I can go barefoot, that's even better. But for the events I have a stylist, and in two hours we have selected a whole outfit. — Penelope Cruz

I love ballet, and it's a little boring for me to go to the gym because I'm used to the dancing discipline - it's really hard but much more fun. — Penelope Cruz

I came to New York to study ballet and English. — Penelope Cruz

My favourite actress is Meryl Streep. Oh, and Anna Magnani. — Penelope Cruz

Nothing is going to happen to you if you throw salt on the floor, stand under a ladder, or see eight black cats on the street. — Penelope Cruz

Awards are great, as you get to meet up with friends and colleagues from your industry - a sort of reunion. — Penelope Cruz

There's a lot of work that goes into it - if you think about how many collections a year that Karl Lagerfeld has to do, with Chanel and all the other things he does - you can't do that unless you are working 18 hours a day. It's really a lot of hard, hard work. — Penelope Cruz

The discipline that ballet requires is obsessive. And only the ones who dedicate their whole lives are able to make it. Your toenails fall off and you peel them away and then you're asked to dance again and keep smiling. I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer. — Penelope Cruz

I can cook a little bit. I can cook a few Spanish dishes. But, in movies, it looks like I cook much better than I cook. — Penelope Cruz

I
would close down all those teenage magazines that encourage young
girls to diet. Who says that to be pretty you have to be thin? Some
people look better thin and some don't. There is almost a standard being
created where only thin is acceptable. The influence of those
magazines on girls as young as 13 is horrific. — Penelope Cruz

In 'Twice Born' I play my character in her 20s, 30s and 50s. For the fifty year old scenes, I had some prosthetics; it was interesting to see how I'm going to look when I'm fifty-five or so. I actually saw similarities between my grandmothers and my mother. — Penelope Cruz

I remember when I got my first opportunity to work in America, I didn't speak a lot of English, so I only really knew my lines for the movie I was doing. — Penelope Cruz

I breastfed my son for 13 months, and I plan to do at least the same with my daughter. That's an amazing thing for babies, but it's also really good for the mother because it regulates your body again after pregnancy. — Penelope Cruz

I had things with numbers - because I love numbers - but it's not something I'm proud of. I'm proud that I was able to send them away, because you're much more present. — Penelope Cruz

All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood - all of them are true. And all of them are the most beautiful things you will ever experience. — Penelope Cruz