With affection, Penelope Cruz thanks MoMA for greetings

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz will be honored, Tuesday, by the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) in a ceremony that benefited from the museum’s film archive.

The recognition for the Oscar-winning actress comes just a decade after the Museum of Modern Art honored Pedro Almodóvar, who directed her in films such as “Volver,” “Los Abrazos Rotos” and “Madres Playas.” The latter, which received two Golden Globe nominations on Monday, opens in the United States on December 24.

When MoMa announced her tribute to Cruz in October, she said the actress “stunned audiences” and that her role on “Parallel Mothers” established her as an “artist of global significance.” In September, Cruz won Best Actress for her work in the film at the Venice Film Festival.

Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin will co-chair Tuesday’s event, which attracts dozens of celebrities from the worlds of film and music each year.

The Museum of Modern Art highlighted that Cruz is the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award. She won the Best Supporting Actress Award in 2009 for her role in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, in which she starred with her husband, Javier Bardem.

Other films in Cruz’s repertoire include “Jamón, Jamón” (1992), “Todo sobre mi madre” (1999), and “Dolor y gloria” (2019).

Tuesday’s event is expected to raise funds for the museum’s cinema management, which has a legacy of 30,000 films and 1.5 million photos. The event is sponsored by Chanel, the fashion brand of which Cruise has been an ambassador since 2018.

Last year, at a virtual party due to the COVID-19 pandemic, American actor George Clooney was honored.