With two new movies Broken Embraces, her fourth film with director Pedro Almodovar, and Rob Marshall`s big-name musical extravaganza, Nine Penelope Cruz is mining both the Spanish roots that made her an actress and the hard-won Hollywood breakthrough that made her an international star. The author taps into the fierce passions of the Oscar-winning enchantress, whether for her directors, her leading men (including current flame Javier Bardem), or the cinema itself.

Cruz is poised to become a new member of the tiny firmament of actresses who began their careers in a language other than English and went on to become truly international stars: the Marlene Dietrichs, Greta Garbos, Ingrid Bergmans, Sophia Lorens, Anouk Aimees, Catherine Deneuves, Jeanne Moreaus, and Liv Ullmanns. Like some of those actresses, Cruz isn`t cookie-cutter pretty she even has a bit of a schnoz but her unusual features come together in a memorable aria of real beauty. As Woody Allen says, `I don`t like to look at Penelope directly. It is too overwhelming.`