With their newest film nominated at the Oscars, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem's acting performances
and love story never cease to amaze!
Ever wonder what took them so long to get together anyway?
Or why their love life’s so private?
Keep watching to find out!
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem's relationship goes all the way back to 1992, when the two
met while on the set of the film "Jamón, Jamón."
The role was a huge success for Cruz at the time and marked her debut in a feature film.
According to Refinery29, Cruz was only 17 years old when the pair filmed the movie — a
fact that Bardem told GQ he was well aware of.
Despite the fact that he admits to sharing "obvious chemistry" with his younger co-star,
Bardem told GQ that the two didn't have a relationship outside of the film.
The movie itself is pretty steamy, with Bardem admitting to the publication that if his own
daughter wanted to shoot the same movie while underage, he would never let her.
However, he does plan to show the movie to their two children some day.
He said,
"One day we're going to have to show the kids — imagine!
'Mummy, Daddy, what did you do in the movies together?'
'Well, my children, you should celebrate this movie as you're here because of it!'"
It would take Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem 15 years to actually get together.
Appropriately enough, they were co-stars yet again in the Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina
Barcelona" when sparks finally flew.
However, Bardem once told GQ that he almost didn't date Cruz at all because of her fiery
disposition.
"No?"
"No."
He worried when they first met that he wouldn't be able to handle Cruz's energy.
He explained,
"She has that feistiness.
There are those scenes where we are arguing, she's throwing plates and so on.
I had to wonder, 'Do I really want this?'
She has what I call the loving blood.
Passion for everything."
There's actually another reason why things almost didn't take off between the two: Neither
of them was ready to make the first move!
Bardem said that a wrap party thrown at the end of filming helped them both find the liquid
encouragement they needed to express their very real, and very mutual, interest.
Once Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem were together, it seemed like they realized they
had something so good it needed to be protected.
In fact, many people likely didn't realize the couple were official until the news that
they had gotten married came out in July 2010.
The Guardian reported that the two had a small wedding made up of only members of their family
as guests.
Later that month, Bardem surprised everyone — including Cruz — when he dedicated his
Best Actor award from that year's Cannes Film Festival to his new wife.
While Cruz's eyes filled with tears, Bardem said,
"I share this joy with my friend, my companion, my love: Penelope: I owe you a lot and I love
you so much."
The pair sealed the speech by blowing kisses at one another, much to the surprise and delight
of their fellow attendees.
Cruz told Tatler that she's always been happy the pair have been ultra-private when it comes
to their love.
In fact, she said she couldn't imagine being any other way.
She shared,
"It was a really good decision for us, not to talk about our relationship.
It would feel very strange to do it a different way.
I just couldn't do it."
Some Hollywood couples don't like working together, but others seem to relish it.
It's pretty clear that Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem would place themselves squarely
in the latter camp.
After meeting on the set of their 1992 film "Jamón, Jamón" and reuniting on screen in
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona," they once more co-starred in a project in 2017's "Loving
Pablo."
Then in 2019, they appeared on the big screen in yet another film, "Everybody Knows."
While speaking to Marie Claire about working alongside her husband in the film, Cruz was
quick to point out that while they enjoy working together, it's not something they want to
do constantly.
The reason is in large part due to the couple's ongoing quest for as much privacy as they
can possibly have.
Cruz explained,
"In fact, it's not something we want to do that often, partly out of a desire to protect
what we have."
She also explained that, while it's nice to work with Bardem because they understand the
other’s craft, the prospect of doing so every year makes her worry that the act would
confuse their on screen and off screen lives.
For now, it seems that they're happy with their occasional projects together.
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are mom and dad to two children, their son, Leo, and their
daughter, Luna.
When it comes to raising their kids, it seems like the two are perfectly in sync — especially
when asked about how they let their children navigate the world of the internet and social
media.
Cruz explained to "CBS Sunday Morning" that her own relationship with social media is
complex.
"I use very little of it in a very careful way."
This mentality extends to her children, who aren't allowed on social media at all because
she wants to protect them.
While she lets them watch movies and shows, she won't let them have social media accounts
until they are at least 16.
"I really see that as protecting mental health."
It's clear that Bardem also shares Cruz's protective instincts when it comes to their
two children.
As he told Slant Magazine, becoming a father has taught him a powerful lesson.
That is, your family is always worth protecting.
He shared,
"To have a family is to be in a room that's sacred, meaning that I'm not going to let
that go or let anything invade that room."
When it comes to the lessons that Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are trying to impart
on their two children, the pair are very clear.
Both draw on their own childhoods, with Bardem telling Entertainment Tonight that he hopes
his kids have the same values he grew up with.
"I just want them to be nice, honest, caring, loving people."
Cruz agreed, and added that her own parents were very disciplined and focused, which is
something she hopes to instill in her own kids.
She shared,
"My parents taught us great values.
They were very hard workers.
They didn't take anything for granted."
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