Penélope Cruz was born in Madrid, Spain.
Cruz comes from a Catholic family,[1] but isn't necessarily a devoted Catholic anymore. Not to say she isn't spiritual, though.
I was raised as a Catholic, but I believe in God in my own way and I pray in my own way and I respect all kinds of philosophies. The one philosophy or religion that I find I am most close to is the Buddhist one. I think it is the one that respects the others and the one that doesn't say that this is the only way.[2]
So even though she's kind of a Buddhist, she hasn't necessarily rejected all other faiths. She doesn't even have any bad things to say about Scientology, even though that's rumored to be the cause of her breakup with Tom Cruise.[3] About her inclusive view of religion, Cruz said,
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![4]
It sounds like she could be a good fit with the Unitarian Universalists, but maybe she just prefers to connect with her spirituality on her own time.
Obama Has to Win
Cruz appears to be just as liberal in her politics as she is in her religious beliefs. Although she doesn't talk about politics much, the actress weighed in on Barack Obama when he was running for his first term in office. And just like many of her fellow Hollywood chums, she was enamored:
It's impossible that Obama doesn't win. He has to win. I believe in everything he says and, to me, he is an intelligent, prepared, and open man.[5]
Cruz isn't an American citizen, despite her endorsement, but her son is a citizen because he was born in California. And that fact pulled Cruz and her husband, Spanish actor Javier Bardem, into the immigration debate.
Fox News Latino, produced a story (which has since been deleted) with the headline "Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem Are Having an Anchor Baby,"[6] meaning their child would benefit their own immigration status. There was an outcry from the latino community that the headline was racist,[7] but no comment from Cruz herself.
Cruz' ties to the U.S., howerver, don't mean she's not concerned about her home country. In her deep concern for the economic problems in Spain, Cruz encouraged film-makers to choose the country as the location for future films.[8]
Loading comments...