Penelope Cruz
I really like the Caribbean. Anyplace in the Caribbean. I get there, and I feel like a monkey - the perfect state.
There was a point where I was making four movies a year. I was always on a set. I had no stories to tell. I was feeling empty. My life was just luggage and hotels and from set to set, from character to character. And one day, I said, 'And where is mine?' You know? And the moment I started to feel that fear, I stopped and I slowed down.
I breastfed my son for 13 months, and I plan to do at least the same with my daughter. That's an amazing thing for babies, but it's also really good for the mother because it regulates your body again after pregnancy.
I hope that I will be able to work all of my life - even when I am older. It's easier to do that in Europe than in America, because in America it is difficult for older actresses to find work.
You cannot live your life looking at yourself from someone else's point of view.
All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood - all of them are true. And all of them are the most beautiful things you will ever experience.
I have a strong personality, and I say what I think.
I am someone who worries a lot. I'm always worrying 'what if?' Now I'm a mum - there will be worries for the rest of my life, but they're not about me anymore.
I never want to lie about my age. If I look around at the actresses I admire, they are all women who have not fought growing older, but embraced it and been proud of it - women like Sophia Loren or Audrey Hepburn.
It's a good thing to be old. Because when you get older, that means you haven't died yet, right? And when I do get older, I want to have the grace to be proud of it, not to lie about it or try to fight it.
Calcutta is like another world. People there are very special and grateful.
As a kid, I had a lot of energy; but the ballet lessons made me calm - this pleased my mother.
I remember when I got my first opportunity to work in America, I didn't speak a lot of English, so I only really knew my lines for the movie I was doing.
I always feel scared and insecure on a film set. I don't know any other way.
I don't know why, but women in a hair salon share their deepest secrets.
I came to Los Angeles for the first time in 1994. I spoke no English. I only knew how to say two sentences: 'How are you?' and 'I want to work with Johnny Depp.'
The most important lesson I've learned in this business is how to say no. I have said no to a lot of temptations, and I am glad I did.
I am living for every day and trying to have less fear, less worry. But I have always worried about everything; it's in my nature. It's the thing that makes me suffer the most.
Awards are great, as you get to meet up with friends and colleagues from your industry - a sort of reunion.
I am a big fan of photography, more of being behind the camera - so when I get the opportunity to work with such great photographers, I always try and learn from their technique.
In my everyday life, I just wear jeans, t-shirts and trainers - if I can go barefoot, that's even better. But for the events I have a stylist, and in two hours we have selected a whole outfit.
I have a little bit of an addiction to work. So I'm always hiding in the bathroom with my Blackberry to work when I'm on holiday.
I had a very curly perm in the '80s, thanks to the 'Way You Make Me Feel' Michael Jackson video. I liked the girl in it.
I learned English kind of late. I remember when I got my first opportunity to work in America, I didn't speak a lot of English, so I only really knew my lines for the movie I was doing.
My ambition is to be happy.
I always knew I wanted a family because of the way I grew up. Family has always been the most important thing.
I am amazed about how everyone wants to know about my love life. They whisper to me, 'Tell me the truth? Is it true?' Who cares? Because we have this job, we are to say to everybody what we do, or with whom we sleep? It's a bit absurd, but that's why everybody lies so much.
I don't do Twitter, Facebook; none of that. My email I do from my Blackberry or my iPhone.
I try to do as much as possible for every character. Some of them, it is easier to do the research because you have either real examples that you work with, maybe some specific person that inspires you in that case, or the performances from other people, or the characters, or a character from a book.
There is a part of your brain that has to stop when you're acting. You have to be in the moment and dare to fly. Words can't be on your mind.
I want to have babies one day but not right now. When I do it I want to do it really well. I want it to be my best project in life.
My first fear was about the devil, when I was around fire, something I saw in a movie. I think it's about pain, in whichever form it comes. I had a lot of energy as a child - sometimes too much - and I didn't know how to channel it. It was making me suffer. It was bigger than myself, and I was very young.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've worried too much. It always bothers me because sometimes you end up worrying more about the worry and you are not resolving things that are right there in front of you. I have been like that all my life, and it's hard to change.
I really dislike it when the media asks young actresses, normally when they're about 23, how they feel about ageing. There are other things to worry about.
There's so much more I want to do. I refuse to get to 50 and wait at home for the phone to ring.
I was very superstitious when I was a teenager, and I had to fight against that because it made me feel anxious.
I love ballet, and it's a little boring for me to go to the gym because I'm used to the dancing discipline - it's really hard but much more fun.
When I start a movie, the first day, I feel like a duck.
Making a living out of acting sounded like science-fiction when I was growing up. I didn't know anyone around me who lived from anything related to art.
I love the Italian culture - it's a beautiful culture. I love the language, the Italian people, their music, their attitudes... I just love it! Sometimes I think I'm an Italian trapped in a Spanish woman's body.
The discipline that ballet requires is obsessive. And only the ones who dedicate their whole lives are able to make it. Your toenails fall off and you peel them away and then you're asked to dance again and keep smiling. I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer.
Unfortunately, I am very aware of editing and I look at the monitor too much. Sometimes the monitor can become your worst enemy because you can, consciously or unconsciously, start editing yourself.
I just try not to label myself in any way. I just have an allergy to labels in general. I can tell you that I am surrounded by very strong women and that I really appreciate that, but I'd rather not label myself.
I have had a very singular kind of life since I started working so young, so I am very used to traveling, working, taking time for myself.
One thing that I am proud of: I am really capable of laughing at myself.
Johnny Depp is so special that he is like a Martian. In fact, that's what I call him, Martian.
I'm strong and opinionated. Those qualities brought me a lot of problems since I was a little girl in school, saying 'I don't agree' and fighting with the children. It's part of my curiosity for life.
My definition of beauty is without rules. It can be the face of a beautiful 90-year-old woman that is full of stories and emotion. Beauty is what somebody's eyes communicate.Collection: Beautiful
I think magic is very related to happiness. So it is not there all the time, but there are beautiful moments of magic in everyone's life.Collection: Beautiful