Penélope Cruz would like nothing more than to feed me ham. So much so that these are her first words when I meet her at her production company, 30 minutes north of Madrid: "Hello.
Nice to meet you. Ham?" Her iconic accent, so enticing to Americans she could have a robust side career in sleep stories, turns the word to "hum." I had not factored in this scenario, three decades ago, when I decided to give up meat. "Oh, well," she says, eyes on her office door, pulling out a chair. "Ham is coming in about 20 minutes." The 49-year-old Academy Award-winning star of countless films (well, IMDb can count them, but even the most avowed Cruzphile would have trouble rattling them off), including All About My Mother, Volver, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Parallel Mothers, and Vanilla Sky (twice, if you include Open Your Eyes) is disarmingly easygoing. True, this combination of mystique and personability is well-calibrated. She'll be the first to admit that "I'm programmed to protect myself," but it can't possibly have any bearing on her fly being open.
"Ah," she says, looking down past her chunky pink Chanel sweater and belt, buttoning her jeans. "Always, always, I don't know the answer to that. I don't do it on purpose." Cruz's warm demeanor-she's a natural comic, her smile takes up a greedy amount of real estate on her face, and she speaks with real tenderness about the last time she saw Karl Lagerfeld, when he convinced her to take a late-night stroll through Central Park-exists in sharp contrast to her latest role of Laura Ferrari, the hardened wife of Enzo Ferrari (played by Adam Driver) in Michael Mann's breakneck biopic Ferrari.
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Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av ELLE US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Surreal Life of Tyla - Inside the dizzying, meteoric rise of a true African pop star.
The night before the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tyla was unusually calm. The South African singer was about to give a surprise performance at the Prelude to the Olympics, held at the Fondation Louis Vuitton and attended by celebrities from Zendaya to LeBron James.I was asked to do the event by Pharrell [Williams, Louis Vuitton Men's creative director], so it was insane-an instant 'Yes, she says. Sometimes I'm nervous, like I'm really nervous. But this time, Tyla looked forward to the show the entire day.
Wellness - Amazing Grace - Actress Toks Olagundoye was making people laugh on TV while managing intense treatments for breast cancer.
My work makes me really happy, says Toks Olagundoye, an acting veteran who plays Olivia Finch on the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier. That's one reason she stuck with the hit show's first season despite a shock diagnosis: During the course of preparing for and filming the series, as well as Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction, she underwent chemotherapy and six surgeries to treat breast cancer. Feeling healthy ahead of Frasier's Season 2 launch on September 19, she talks to ELLE about her healing story.
Shanghai Rising - An international fashion presence and an appreciation for the city's own talent are powering a renaissance in China's largest city.
A year ago, Louis Vuitton wrapped the giant warehouse space housing Fotografiska Shanghai in electric blue. The occasion? "Nóng Hó, Shanghai" (Shanghainese for "Hello, Shanghai"), a four-week cultural festival of book clubs, architecture tours, and live music to promote the maison's City Guide Series. "Everything was built in 48 hours, whereas in London that would've taken weeks," says Shem Jacobs, a recent transplant to Shanghai and Fotografiska's director of partnerships, Asia. "The efficiency here is really amazing."
The Power of Kindness
To mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, Lauren Sánchez and Nina Garcia come together for a conversation about identity, education, and civility.
The Gift of Ketanji Brown Jackson
In an exclusive profile and a new memoir, the history-making Supreme Court justice is telling her story.
Gaining Momentum
Vaccines, targeted meds, and a new way to stop hair loss? Breast cancer research is reaching a breakthrough point.
The Miami Glam Squad
The city's rising cohort of beauty entrepreneurs is leading the Latine beauty boom.
Golden DAYS
Tiffany & Co. pays tribute to Elsa Peretti's legacy.
THE CULT OF COZY SEASON
Forget \"New year, new you.\" Fall has us all turning over a new sartorial leaf.
Scarlet WOMAN
For one Latina novelist, reclaiming the color red turns out to be the ultimate power move.
