An Interview with Penelope Cruz:

Penelope Cruz went with red lips and lots of diamonds for the January cover of Interview. She posed for an accompanying sexy spread and talked about Nine with her costar in the film, Marion Cotillard. There's all sorts of speculation about Penelope's personal life and possible engagement to Javier Bardem, but the ladies kept things strictly focused on business — Penelope shared about what compelled her to act, her inspirations, and what it was like on the female-centered set of Nine. Here's more:

On what inspired her to act: "That question actually brings me to the reason why I decided to become an actress, which is my constant curiosity about the endless mysteries of human behavior. Because we are dealing with the beauty and complexity of human confusion, no? And we are always trying to get answers."
On when she knew she wanted to act: "I think since I was around four years old. I remember playing with some friends and being aware that I was acting as I was playing with them — I would think of a character and pretend to be someone else. My parents also took me to ballet school, and there I think I was able to start communicating those feelings or emotions — I danced for so many years. And then, when I was 10 or 11, I became a very big fan of movies."
On who she looks up to: "As an actress, I really love people like Anna Magnani and Debra Winger. I also think there is nobody better than Meryl Streep. I watch her movies over and over again — I saw Silkwood again a couple of weeks ago, and it made me just want to kiss her feet. We only know each other from seeing each other at awards ceremonies or those kinds of events, but whenever I see her, I always go up to her and start kissing her. I don’t even say anything—I just kiss her. She must think I’m some crazy person. And then, from the women in my life, I have to say that I have a very special relationship with my mother. She had me when she was 21, so she was very young. I’ve always been able to talk to her about everything. Since I was a little girl, nothing was taboo in my house. She’s been the person who I’ve looked to for inspiration for many of the characters that Pedro writes because she’s really a force of nature. She’s very strong."