She's an Oscar-winning actress and a fashion designer, butthere's a role that Penelope Cruz cherishes above all others – being mom to hertwo children with husband Javier Bardem.
"Nothing can beat a conversation with a child,"the Spanish actress says in a new interview with The Guardian.
Penelope Cruz Photo: Getty Images
"The biggest feelings I have ever experienced come fromthe way my children look at me," she says of Leo, 4, and Luna, 2."Being a mother is seeing life from a different point of view, as if youwere a child again. Even your relationship with nature changes; it's like youcan see a tree through new eyes."
The actress, who stars in the upcoming Zoolander 2, admitsthat she was a very naughty child – "I hear so many stories," shesays. "Maybe there is some truth in it" – but now that she's reachedthe age of 41, she's comfortable with the person she's become.
"Every day, and every year, you get to know yourself alittle better, but never even close to knowing all the mysteries aboutyourself," she says. "Sometimes after a painful experience you canlook back and start to become friends with the memory of it."
Penelope, who along with her sister Monica is a designer ofAgent Provocateur's L'Agent line and is launching a swimwear line in November,has also made peace with getting older. It's a concept that a lot of Hollywoodstars struggle with but Penelope says it's "something to celebrate."
"When I started getting asked: 'How do you feel aboutaging?' I would always pass. How can someone ask you that when you're25?" she says. "There are only good things about it. That's very muchthe way we see it in Spain."
It makes sense to live your life not worrying about things youcannot control. "It's the fear of fear that can paralyze you themost," she says. "Fear is our worst enemy. It can affect so manydecisions, so I always strive for it to not take my freedom away."
Salma and Penelope holding hands while out to dinner in February Photo: Getty Images
Maybe this talk of conquering your fears is how sheconvinced her pal Salma Hayek to let her cut her hair.
"When I was nine years old I used to spend a couple ofhours a day washing and cutting hair at my parents' salon and still, today, I'lldo everyone who lets me – like Salma Hayek,who is one of my best friends," she says. "I've done her hair whenthe power went out in her house, with just a candle. That one really trustsme."
