Penelope Cruz's Birthday: A Career Retrospective (PHOTOS)

As Penelope Cruz turns 38 years-old today, we celebrate the Spanish actress by taking a trip down memory lane through some of her most memorable roles. As Lena the troubled actress in "Broken Embraces" or Maria Elena the emotionally unstable ex-wife in "Vicky, Cristina Barcelona", Cruz is known for playing hot-headed, strong and extravagantly passionate women.

Pedro Almodovar, who's casted Cruz in some of her most compelling roles, once said, she "belongs to the Mediterranean school of actors, a style characterized by its carnality, gutsiness, shamelessness, messy hair, generous cleavage and shouting as a natural form of communication." She certainly does. And we love watching her.

Take A Look At Penelope Cruz's Acting Career:

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Comments

[GravitonX]

09:05 AM on 04/29/2012

Feliz Compleaños, Señora

[Desert Rascal]

10:20 PM on 04/28/2012

Absolutely gorgeous Pen. How Tom could leave you is a mystery to me.

[studioh!]

10:03 PM on 04/28/2012

this cruz at her age looks better than mrs. cruise. must be the "water".

[reevee]

09:44 PM on 04/28/2012

I do love this woman!

[jedwightn]

09:10 PM on 04/28/2012

Call me, I'll celebrate your birthday with you in style.

[Soror4512]

09:07 PM on 04/28/2012

Surely it happens to everybody - getting older.

[ferrygal]

07:25 PM on 04/28/2012

I do think she is so beautiful in the best way - very elegant and somewhat mysterious. Her husband seems like a great match for her.

[William Cassaday]

07:19 PM on 04/28/2012

Who is Penelope Cruz again?

[c1605]

08:37 PM on 04/28/2012

Actress. Spanish. Made lots of movies. Famous.

[susane07]

06:59 PM on 04/28/2012

She seems like a nice person but I don't think she's a very good actress. She's always over the top.

[Zilo]

10:04 PM on 04/28/2012

Yeah, like a lot of Spanish actors really. Sofia Vergara is like that too (well, she's Columbian, I think actually). They become caricatures in their movies. I can't watch either one of them.

[thatsNotWhatIHeard]

05:31 PM on 04/28/2012

The esteemed, Pulitzer-Prize winning Huffington Post, everybody!

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

05:29 PM on 04/28/2012

I'm going to be 37 this summer. Thank you for making me feel old. :(

[birdinanest]

05:48 PM on 04/28/2012

don't worry, you are indeed young. It is all about how you feel.
stay liberal, stay young.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

06:11 PM on 04/28/2012

Thank you. That made me feel better. :)

[someguy15]

06:11 PM on 04/28/2012

a bit early but Happy Birthday!

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

06:36 PM on 04/28/2012

Thanks. :)

[NER2]

05:20 PM on 04/28/2012

Penelope, I have been saving myself for you. Please call me!!

[Gregor53]

05:49 PM on 04/28/2012

Stand in line. I have seniority.

[robnelsong]

06:28 PM on 04/28/2012

The line is very long indeed :-)

[NER2]

06:41 PM on 04/28/2012

No. We must duel.

[TruthRains]

05:09 PM on 04/28/2012

Best thing she did was dump TomCruise.

[Roommate]

04:23 PM on 04/28/2012

shes old

[torgman3]

06:46 PM on 04/28/2012

No, you're young.

[Zilo]

10:04 PM on 04/28/2012

What are you? 10 years old?

[keemia]

04:12 PM on 04/28/2012

She's one of the most delightful and natural actresses out there. Almadovar did well discovering her.