- Penélope Cruz just spoke out about the impact of hormones on women's lives, and the stigma that still surrounds hormonal conditions.
- "There are times in the life of a woman that have to be acknowledged, and understood and called by their name," she told Tatler.
- Later in the interview, Cruz also opened up about her decision not to discuss her relationship with actor Javier Bardem, her husband of almost 10 years. Relive their entire relationship history.
In case you missed it, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story star Penélope Cruz recently gave a rare and candid interview to Tatler, in which she addresses her nearly 10-year marriage to Oscar winner Javier Bardem and also opens up about women's health.
Poignantly, Cruz said she has developed an interest in hormones–and specifically in the stigma that still surrounds hormonal conditions more generally. She's concluded that "Hormones rule the world. There are times in the life of a woman that have to be acknowledged, and understood and called by their name."
Cruz went on to discuss the stigma surrounding certain female health conditions. "There are too many taboos surrounding women’s bodies and I think it equals a big lack of respect," Cruz said. "Words like 'period', 'postpartum depression,' 'menopause.' Even today, those words, you bring them up at a dinner table, everybody gets nervous. Even if it’s a group of women, if men are also at the table, the energy gets very nervous."
In addition, we were a little surprise to see that Cruz opened up about her relationship with Bardem—something she barely does. Specifically, she explained why the couple has opted to stay tight-lipped about their relationship. "It was a really good decision for us, not to talk about our relationship," she said. "It would feel very strange to do it a different way. I just couldn’t do it."
But for those of you who are still curious, here are a few key facts we do know about Cruz and Bardem's relationship.
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem knew each other for years before becoming a couple.
Cruz and Bardem first met back in 1992, when they were filming the Spanish comedy-drama Jamón Jamón. But it wasn't until years later, when the pair reunited to film Woody Allen's 2008 romantic comedy Vicky Christina Barcelona, that they took things to the next level. According to Hello!, the romance was confirmed in October of 2007, when pictures surfaced of them on vacation together in the Maldives.
They waited until 2010 to make their first public appearance.
Three years into their relationship, Cruz and Bardem made their first public appearance as a couple at the 2010 Goya Awards, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars. Cruz also quietly accompanied Bardem to the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his movie Biutiful, and Bardem made a touching, public declaration of his love for her at the festival's closing awards ceremony.
"I share this joy with my friend, my companion, my love: Penelope," Bardem said as he accepted the Best Actor prize for his performance, looking into the audience at a tearful Cruz. "I owe you a lot and I love you so much."
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem's wedding was a total secret.
In July of 2010, it emerged that Cruz and Bardem had tied the knot in a secret, low-key ceremony at a friend's house in the Bahamas. According to The Telegraph, only family members were present for the intimate ceremony. The couple have since had two children together: 8-year-old Leo Encinas Cruz, and 5-year-old Luna Encinas Cruz.
“You know it’s the beginning of something, but you don’t know what it’s the beginning of,” Bardem told Marie Claire in 2019, reflecting on the summer when her relationship with Bardem blossomed.
"My life is...a very different life. But it’s the life that I always wanted since I was a little girl. When I was four or five, I was already performing, and the characters in my games were always mothers. I really wanted to be a mother, for as long as I can remember. But I did it when I felt the time was right—the right time, the right person.”
The couple's chemistry has continued to evolve both on- and off-screen.
Cruz and Bardem reunited as co-stars again last year in Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows, and Bardem opened up to Vulture about how their chemistry has changed over the years. "Life has changed. We have grown," he said. "Everything is different once you’re family. That is the priority, as it should be. We’re no exception from that. We work as hard as we can, but we recognize how hard we can work depends on each other’s needs. It’s important not to be confused by fiction. Fiction is fiction, reality is its own thing."
He went on to explain that as younger actors, he and Cruz had allowed the line between fiction and reality to blur more than they would now.
"When you’re younger—because we’ve worked together many times over the years, we met when I was 21 and she was 16—you tend to confuse one for the other, or mix them. Now, I’m going to be 50 in a few weeks, and I don’t do this anymore. She’s the same way. You must always know when you’re working on a level of re-creation, outside of real life."
He concluded this thought with a line that sums up this power couple's smart approach to maintaining a deep relationship in the public eye: "Penélope and I, we have to protect the 'us.'"
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Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
