Miss Cruz will will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday February 3rd. She will no doubt be talking about her Oscar nomination so definitely tune in!

The cinema has never been an equal opportunity employer. From the beginning, a special advantage has been reserved for those few humans whose faces look good projected at a hundred times life size. These rare creatures, the sight of whom casts a magic spell over millions worldwide, are blessed with more than symmetry, a healthy smile, bright eyes, and good skin. As any casting director will tell you, those highly desirable qualities are nevertheless barely enough to get someone an audition. With the great icons of the cinema, figures like Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, and now Penélope Cruz, a kind of poetry of the flesh must be present, lending an emotional resonance to their beauty that implies something mysterious and desirable beyond the surface, and constitutes the aura of the genuine star.

Salma Hayek forced Penélope Cruz to watch the Oscar nominations.

Penelope, who was staying at the close friend Salma’s Los Angeles home for a sleepover, had planned to sleep through the nominations, having only flown into the city a few hours before. Her hostess, however, had other plans.

Penelope said: “I had just arrived to Los Angeles very, very late at night, and I had went to sleep. Four hours later, I was at the house of some of my girlfriends, and they woke me up. Actually, it was Salma Hayek. She woke me up and said, ‘We have to watch it live!’ I said, ‘That’s such a big risk!’”

In Hollywood Harvey Weinstein and Salma Hayek honored their friend, the Oscar-nominated Penelope Cruz (for Vicky Cristina Barcelona) at an all-movie star party in Salma’s white wood, jewel of a little house in Bel Air. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, who she once played in a film where she should have won the Oscar, hang Salma’s walls with paintings. Her windows overlook L.A. The decor is stunning, contemporary and tastefully bright. The hostess received in a black cocktail dress wearing five-inch heels and carrying her baby, Valentina, in her arms. Some guests? Colin Farrell, Brett Ratner, Josh Groban, Prince, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Quincy Jones, Drew Barrymore, Penny Marshall, Bob Balaban, Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones who say they’re moving back East.

View the first picture of Miss Cruz at the SAG Awards. She looks gorgeous in a black gown!

Coverage to come later, and check back to see if our girl wins for Supporting Actress!

Penélope Cruz has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Maria Elena in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This marks her second Academy Award nomination; she was previously recognized for her work in Volver in 2006. Huge congratulations to Penélope! We’re all rooting for you!

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in Doubt
Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis in Doubt
Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler

The awards will be handed out Feb. 22 at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, airing on ABC.

Penélope Cruz sizzles alongside sister Monica in a stunning new shoot for Mango’s Spring/Summer ’09 collection.

The sisters – who have done several advertisements with the high street store – pose for their new limited collection Penélope & Mónica Cruz for MNG.

The Cruz sisters show off their stylish new range of Japanese influenced, kimono styles and blazer-trouser combos.

Check out these gorgeous vintage scans of Miss Cruz back from November 2000′s Elle. Thanks to ‘sixth-mercury’.

If the star wattage is pulsing on State Street, it can only mean the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is back in town.

The 24th annual event opens Thursday and will feature more than 200 films during its 11-day run. Clint Eastwood, Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz are among the celebrity honorees.

As usual, the event figures to be a hotbed for Academy Award hopefuls; nominations will be announced Thursday, the same day the festival starts.