How Much Money Is Penelope Cruz Really Worth
Penélope Cruz is a Spanish-born actress who has mostly likely been in something you have seen and loved, and she's worth an estimated net worth of $75 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. With dozens of films under her belt, along with numerous collaborations, partnerships, and endorsements, Cruz has had a highly successful career, so her high net worth makes sense.
Cruz made her cinematic debut in 1992 in the Spanish-language film "Jamón, Jamón." Since then, she's gone on to star alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Scarlett Johansson, and her husband, Javier Bardem. In 2009, Cruz explained to fellow actress Marion Cotillard while being interviewed for Interview magazine that performing and acting is something that she feels she's always wanted to do because she has a "constant curiosity about the endless mysteries of human behavior" that the medium helps her explore.
Cruz's overall net worth has increased over the years, in part, due to her real estate investments, such as the home she and Bardem own in Spain, as well as an ongoing campaign with the French beauty company Lancôme. Here is a look into the life and career of Penélope Cruz and what her financial situation has been like throughout the years.
Penélope Cruz began her career at a young age
According to Hello! magazine, Penélope Cruz had seemingly endless energy as a child, which caused her mother to pack her off to the grandparents some days. It's also what eventually led to Cruz enrolling in dance lessons at the age of 4; she began studying at Spain's National Conservatory. She later told actress Gwyneth Paltrow for an interview with Interview that her dance training was "hardcore" — Cruz and her classmates spent six days a week training for five hours at a time.
Ultimately, Cruz realized the reason she enjoyed dancing so much: "I didn't realize then that the reason I liked dancing was because it was just another form of acting." Though she quit dancing entirely after filming her first movie at the age of 17, it's clear that the art had a definite impact on Cruz's career and financial success from early on. After all, without dancing, she might never have realized acting is where her true passion lies.
The 1992 film Jamon, Jamon put her on the map
Penélope Cruz's first major film came out in 1992: "Jamón, Jamón." The Spanish-language comedic drama also starred the man that Cruz would later go on to marry, Javier Bardem (though the general consensus is that they didn't begin dating until 2007, according to Page Six).
The role was a major one for Cruz in a lot of ways. One of the biggest is that the film contains her first-ever nude scene, which Cruz shot at the young age of 18. She later told Esquire, while the cast and crew were very supportive of her throughout the experience, she was worried shooting such a scene could diminish her chances of working in the industry in the future. "I remember the last day of filming, I was crying, saying: 'What if I never shoot a movie again?' The feeling was devastating," she said.
However, her IMDb page reveals Cruz worked steadily throughout the 1990s. She was cast in 2001's "Vanilla Sky" opposite Tom Cruise in 2001, something that sent her skyrocketing toward fame seemingly overnight to many audiences and no doubt helping her secure future gigs.
She has acted in more than 50 films, including major hits
Shooting Cameron Crowe's 2001 Tom Cruise vehicle "Vanilla Sky" was a major moment for Penélope Cruz. However, the film itself was almost dwarfed by the personal updates in Cruz's life at the time. Cruise had only recently left his globally beloved ex-wife Nicole Kidman, and ABC News reported that the actress even thought Cruz and Cruise's relationship could be part of the reason why her marriage ended.
Cruz followed up "Vanilla Sky" with a fascinating series of work. For every blockbuster she's shot, such as "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," there are plenty of foreign-language films like 2004's "Non Ti Muovere" and artistic choices, such as "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
Cruz later reflected on the many women she's played throughout her career, noting that the women are flawed (and that's what makes them so compelling). She told The Week, "They are not perfect and they are not heroines. They are going through a lot of struggles, and some of them are not making the best choices in life. The older I am, the more interesting the characters are."
Penélope Cruz owns several homes around the world
Acting isn't the only way that Penélope Cruz makes and holds on to money. She and her husband, Javier Bardem, have several homes around the world. Celebrity Net Worth reports that the pair have owned at least three homes together: one in the Hollywood Hills, another in Madrid, Spain, and a third in Los Angeles.
The two put their Hollywood Hills home up for sale back in 2011 and closed the deal for $2.88 million. While the original Zillow listing is no longer available, HuffPost shared that the home has three bedrooms and four bathrooms, along with bamboo flooring and windows that reach from the floor all the way to the ceiling.
HuffPost noted that the closing price was both $807,000 less than what Cruz asked and even $250,000 less than she paid for the home originally, so it seems like the sale might not have been the biggest boost to her overall financial situation.
Penélope Cruz is paid well for her acting projects
When it comes to getting paid for acting, in 2001, This Is Money reported that Penélope Cruz commanded roughly $2 million for "Vanilla Sky." While it's difficult to find sources that reveal what Cruz is making that amount these days, we'd bet that it's even more than $2 million now, considering her fame. What is clear, however, is that she and her husband, Javier Bardem, are paid on the same level when they work together. In 2018, Cruz told Variety that she was paid the same amount as her husband when they filmed "Todos Lo Saben," or "Everybody Knows," together.
Cruz also shared that working on the film together was fun, even though the roles themselves were challenging. Luckily, the two have a solid foundation that helps them when they shoot together. "We have similar ways of work," she said. "The fact that we know each other and trust each other helps."
She has won numerous awards for her acting
It likely comes as no surprise that someone as successful as Penélope Cruz has been rewarded for her acting skills in many ways, not just financially. In 2009, Cruz became the first Spanish-born actress to win an Oscar for her turn as Maria Elena in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (via Reuters). The Best Supporting Actress Oscar win came after she won for Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.
While Oscar winners don't get an actual check or payment for their wins, sources like Money Nation have pointed out that Oscar winners often see a significant raise in their paychecks the next time they're in a film. In fact, for some, the increase in asking price could be as much as 60%! Academy Award attendees also receive swag bags just for showing up, and USA Today revealed that 2020's attendees received items that were valued at over $200,000 in total.
Penélope Cruz has partnered with several brands, including Chanel
In addition to her acting career, Penélope Cruz has leveraged her name, face, and brand quite successfully in terms of endorsements and partnerships. As shared by WWD, the star signed on with French beauty brand Lancôme in 2010 for a multi-year deal. In 2006, Cruz also took on a brand ambassadorship with L'Oreal that was said to have netted her $2 million a year (per CBS News), but the campaign ran into issues fairly early on when it was revealed that Cruz was wearing false eyelashes in an advertisement for the brand's mascara, as reported by The Guardian.
In 2020, Vogue Arabia shared that Cruz also joined the family of Chanel brand ambassadors. The actress joined an esteemed group of fellow actresses, which includes Marion Cotillard, Lily-Rose Depp, and Isabelle Adjani. It's unclear how much Chanel pays Cruz, but it's likely a pretty hefty amount.
Pedro Almodóvar has had a huge impact on Penélope Cruz's success
While Penélope Cruz has earned every single benefit and reward of her success through her skills, it is necessary to point out that one director has helped her throughout nearly her entire life with roles, guidance, and friendship. Cruz has repeatedly praised Pedro Almodóvar for the parts he has asked her to take on in seven of his films so far, and she told Variety that she always waits patiently for his phone call, as he's the reason she wanted to be in the business in the first place. "When he calls me, it's the call that makes me the happiest. He's the reason I started to work as an actress," she said.
As reported by The Guardian, the two met after Almodóvar saw Cruz in "Jamón, Jamón" and called her at home — much to her surprise. It took a few years, but eventually Almodóvar came up with the perfect role for Cruz. And the two haven't looked back.
Penélope Cruz is interested in doing more than acting
Like many actors and actresses, Penélope Cruz has mentioned having aspirations that go beyond portraying a character on the big screen. She did just that when she signed on to both act in and produce the 2015 film "Ma Ma." At the time, she shared with W magazine that, though she had worked in the role of a producer before, this was the first experience she had going through every step that producers go through from start to finish. "It's not really my first producer credit but it's the [first] time I have done everything from day one," she shared. "[Writer/director Julio Medem] and myself. We had to finance the film, we had to go to Cannes for the pre-sales, we did everything."
Cruz added that while she isn't interested in only producing, as she found the role quite stressful, she would definitely like to wear the hat again. She's also tried her hand at directing, revealing that not only has she directed two small projects, but in 2016, she completed a documentary. If one thing's clear, it's that Cruz is a cinematic force, and she'll likely be successful at any role she tries in the industry.