Oscar-winning couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are expecting their second child, according to U.S. media reports on Friday.

The New York Post first reported Cruz’s pregnancy, citing unidentified sources. Celebrity magazine Us Weekly and the website of television network E! said sources close to the couple confirmed the news. A source told E! that the “Volver” actress was “around three months” pregnant.

Representatives of Cruz and Bardem did not respond to calls for comment. The Spanish couple, who married in 2010, welcomed their first child, a boy named Leo, in January 2011.

Cruz and Bardem will act together in supporting roles in the upcoming Ridley Scott film “The Counselor,” which is set for a November release.

Cruz, 38, won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as an impetuous artist in Woody Allen’s 2008 comedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” while Bardem, 43, earned a best supporting actor Oscar in the 2007 drama “No Country for Old Men.”

source: reuters

PENELOPE Cruz has been announced as the new face of luxury fashion brand Loewe.

And it seems the Oscar-winning actress did not take much convincing to front the Madrid-based company either.

“They approached me and I said yes very quickly because it’s a Spanish brand, and everyone involved is from Spain.

“Although the designer is British, all the work is done in Spain,” she said.

“It’s such an old company. I have grown up looking at their wonderful things,” added the 38-year-old.

Loewe’s creative director Stuart Vevers said the actress has a ‘strong, sensual beauty’ that has served as an ‘inspiration’.

Cruz is reported to have been keen to work for a Spanish brand again ever since fronting Mango’s campaign in 2009.

source: theolivepress.es

Here are some of the latest updates:

‘Venuto Al Mondo’ Rome Photocall – Nov 05 (MQ)

‘Che Tempo Che Fa’ Italian Tv Show – November 4 (MQ)

60th San Sebastian Film Festival: ‘Venuto al Mondo’ Arrivals, Premiere & Photocall – Sep 25 (MQ)

Royal World Premiere of Skyfall in England – Oct 23

More to come!

In a bid to extend its appeal beyond the 1%, superluxe lingerie brand Agent  Provocateur has announced the creation of L’Agent, its first diffusion line, in  partnership with sisters Penelope and Monica Cruz. More than a dozen styles are  anticipated, each containing pieces such as bras, underwear and corsets.

Intended to be a standalone collection, L’Agent will be designed  independently from the main line and sold at various retailers worldwide, though  not in Agent Provocateur’s own stores or website (better not to cannibalize its  own sales, we assume). Slated to launch on Aug. 1, the diffusion line’s price  point will be significantly lower than Agent Provocateur’s—a bra will run you  $300 and a corset $1190 in the brand’s stores, while the average price of an  item from L’Agent is $64.

Agent Provocateur was founded in 1994 by Joe Corre, the son of British  designer Vivienne Westwood and punk artist Malcolm McLaren, along with Corre’s  then-wife Serena Rees. The brand has always embodied an aspirational decadence  and sensuality, but now it seems to have set its sights on a slightly younger,  more cost-conscious customer as well.

The company is confidently banking on sultry sexpot Penelope Cruz and her  sister Monica to be the faces of L’Agent, in addition to their behind-the-scenes  involvement. The CEO of Agent Provocateur, Garry Hogarth, told  WWD that he envisioned their partnership lasting a minimum of five  years.

“It is so exciting for me and Monica to embark on this new adventure. We have  always been huge fans of Agent Provocateur and both of us are very much looking  forward to this long-term collaboration,” Penelope told  WWD.

Monica Cruz also appears in the Agent Provocateur’s latest  ad campaign, though this sort of partnership is nothing new to the duo:  previously, Monica and Penelope have collaborated with Spanish retailer Mango,  as well as handbag designer Samantha Thavasa.

If L’Agent can make the average woman feel as sexy as either of these  sisters, Agent Provocateur should have quite the moneymaker on its hands.

Read more: http://style.time.com

Spanish darling Penélope Cruz may be solidifying with Alec Baldwin’s view of paparazzi.

The “To Rome With Love” actress, who has been making her rounds promoting the Woody Allen film in Los Angeles and in New York, says it infuriates her when paparazzi cross the line. She also claims the press in the United States does not respect the privacy of minors.

Earlier this week, Baldwin had a brief encounter with New York Daily News photographer, Marcus Santos, who attempted to snap photos of him and Latina fiancée Hilaria Thomas.

Santos says Baldwin was “looking mad,” and kept telling the photogs to “step back” before he allegedly “lunged” at him “like a raging bull.”

Entertainment gossip experts EnelBrasero.com is reporting that Cruz said it drives her crazy when paparazzi stalk her loved ones.

“I don’t care when photos of me are taken,” the publication quotes Cruz saying as she promoted her new flick in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“But, when they take photos of my family or when they write about my family… especially when it involves small children, I can’t tolerate it.”

“Here there is no protection,” Cruz continued. “The faces of children can be shown [in the press] and I am against that 100 percent,” she said adding that it “should not be allowed.”

This isn’t the first time the stunning actress made headlines for her disgust with paparazzi snapping photos of her son.

While filming “Venuto al Mondo” in Sarajevoback, Bosnia in September, she had sharp words for a paparazzo, who took a picture of her with her infant son, whom she is trying to shield from the media.

“I know you. You published photos of me with my boy, though the agreement was you wouldn’t do that. You should be ashamed of yourself!” Cruz told the reporter.

Bosnian media reported that the Oscar winner scolded the reporter for having snapped a photo when she was strolling with her husband, actor Javier Bardem, and their son Leo, through Bascarsija, the historical district of the Bosnian capital.

Penelope Cruz can’t stop laughing at “hypochondriac” Woody Allen and she loves how the legendary director takes her mind off difficult scenes with his own worries.

Penelope Cruz can’t stop laughing at “hypochondriac” Woody Allen.

The Spanish actress has been reunited with the legendary director for his next film, ‘To Rome with Love’, and she enjoys the way he takes her mind off difficult scenes with his own worries.

She said: “He is such a hypochondriac, I have to laugh at him. In ‘Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona’ on the day Scarlett Johansson and I were to share a screen kiss, he had to leave the set to go to see a dermatologist because he had just seen a new freckle that morning. I said, ‘Why don’t you go this evening when we have finished shooting?’ He said, ‘It might be too late by then.’

“That made me so laugh so much, I couldn’t be nervous about the kissing scene.”

Penelope, 38, is also looking forward to reuniting onscreen with Antonio Banderas, for another film, ‘Los Amantes Pasajeros’, directed by Pedro Almodovar.

She said: “I’ve known Antonio for so long, since we were both living in New York 20 years ago. We were neighbours and we’ve been friends since – he, his wife, and family, and me and my family. We only have about two or three scenes together, but we’re very excited about them.”

source: nzcity.co.nz