Hot off her Academy Award nomination for Volver, Penelope Cruz capitalized on her newfound notoriety this year by taking on roles in a pair of highly anticipated (and unapologetically sexual) endeavors. Vicky Cristina Barcelona cast the actress as the volatile ex-wife of Javier Bardem’s character, though it was her steamy love scenes with costar Scarlett Johansson that caught the attention of heterosexual men the world over. Far more impressive, however, was her onscreen relationship with Ben Kingsley in Elegy, a sizzling performance that Roger Ebert described as “quietly powerful and very true.” And with a role alongside Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson and Daniel Day-Lewis in the highly anticipated musical Nine on tap for 2009, Penelope Cruz will soar beyond underwhelming fare like 2003’s Gothika and 2005’s Sahara.
