Penelope Cruz endured a terrifying health scare while filming her latest project, The Black Ball, and revealed that she had learned to “move forward” and focus on her wellbeing. The 52-year-old was busy filming the queer drama when she received a heart-stopping call from her doctor.
“We’re about to go out [on set], I was putting on my wig, and they said, ‘Oh, apparently you have some brain aneurysm,‘” she said during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival.
“I thought I was about to die. This is something that was totally surreal in my life.” Thankfully, Penelope was given the all-clear in a moment of immense relief for the mother of two.
“I thought, ‘It’s a total miracle. I have to, I must have this in me,‘” she explained. “You experience these things together, yet despite all this, despite the hardship, you can move forward in life.” Penelope went on to thank the production team for their care and comfort during the difficult time.
The Spanish actress stars in The Black Ball alongside Glenn Close, Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas and Carlos González. The film, which explores the interconnected lives of three queer men over several decades, received a 16-minute standing ovation at Cannes. Penelope declared it “one of the strongest, most powerful moments I have ever experienced at the festival.“
She has never been afraid to speak her mind when it comes to her health struggles and has worked to remove the stigma surrounding both postpartum depression and menopause.
© Axelle/Bauer-Griffin“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,” she told Tatler. “There are too many taboos surrounding women’s bodies, and I think it equals a big lack of respect.“
“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.“
© BAFTA/Alecsandra DragoiPenelope’s husband, Javier Bardem, supported her through one of the hardest illnesses she ever had to endure – postpartum depression. She shares her kids, 15-year-old Leo and 12-year-old Luna, with the No Country For Old Men actor.
© WireImage“As a man, you have accompanied that person,” Javier reflected to The New York Times. “The pregnancy wasn’t so bad. The depression that followed was…She wasn’t able to talk about it; it was very new to her.“
© Getty ImagesHe added that she initially struggled to seek help. “Now it’s better, but 14 years ago, it was: ‘Is it okay to share this with my husband?‘ Is it okay to feel this way when I’m supposed to feel the opposite?
“I was not able to get the dimension of what it was, unfortunately. But later on, I did. She’s an amazing, brave, strong, beautiful woman that she was able to share it,” he concluded. The pair met on the set of Jamón Jamôn in 1992 and reunited years later while filming Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008.
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