Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem Relationship's History
The Spanish actors met in 1992 and secretly married in 2010.
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Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz met on the set of Jamón Jamón, a Spanish film, way back in 1992. They didn't reconnect until years later, when they were filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2007, but once they reunited, they realized they were meant to be.
In 2022, they joined an elite list of just six married couples who have been nominated for acting Oscars together in the same year—Bardem for best actor for playing Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos, and Cruz for best actress for her role in Parallel Mothers. After the nominations came out, Bardem said, "I couldn’t be happier to share this celebration with my talented wife, Penélope." While neither won in their respective categories, it was still a big night for both of them.
Bardem and Cruz, are a remarkably private couple for their decades in Hollywood; they married secretly in 2010, have two children together, Leo and Luna, and they live in a suburb of Madrid, in their native country of Spain. Here, as Cruz celebrates her 50th birthday, the definitive Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem relationship timeline—complete with nearly every public appearance they've ever made together, and basically every single thing the notoriously private Spaniards have said about each other.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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