Emotional Penelope Cruz shares family update with Javier Bardem: ‘The biggest blessing’

Penelope Cruz has transparently opened up about her family life.

The star is married to Javier Bardem, and the loving pair welcomed Leo, 15, and Luna, 13, into the world together.

Her life has drastically changed ever since having children and she has a greater balance now.

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She recalled to Elle: “I worked a lot since I was a teenager, especially in my twenties and my thirties. And then I knew if I had children, that was going to be my total priority, and I always wanted to raise them myself.”

The actress explained: “I always felt that was the biggest reward from having worked so hard all those years: to have the opportunity to work less after I had them, make one movie per year, or two, if they’re not too long, and do it in a way where I haven’t had to be away from them.”

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Penelope has been happy ever since she set that work boundary. 

She expressed: “That has been the biggest blessing, because I’ve worked mainly in the summer, where we have traveled together. Or if it’s something short, like The Invite, it was during Easter and [then] adding one week in the beginning, one week at the end.”

The entertainer reflected on her journey, revealing “I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to work, but also that I put all those seeds there for that moment when I became a mother, not to have to separate [from my kids] more than very short trips.”

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The happy couple tend to keep their children away from the spotlight and off of social media so that they can grow up peacefully and away from the public’s opinions.

She previously shared with Vogue: “I want my son — and my kids if I have more — to grow up in a way that is as anonymous as possible. The fact that his father and I have chosen to do the work that we do doesn’t give anybody the right to invade our privacy.”

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In fact, the family moved to Madrid, Spain in order for her kids to have that privacy, and sense of normalcy far away from Hollywood.

Penelope explained to Perfect Magazine: “All our families are there, and the friends from childhood and from our teenage years. It’s easier to have a normal life, you know?”

She concluded: “Yeah, you have to make an effort to keep a part of your life private. But I think when you have children, it’s really important. And they deserve that. They completely deserve that.”