Actors and married couple Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem made a rare public appearance at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Monday, September 7. The pair was photographed arriving at the Excelsior Pier in Venice, and their joint outing offered a glimpse into their lives and relationship; they still appear so happy after decades together.
Penélope Cruz & Javier Bardem Attend Venice Film Festival
GettyFor the event, Cruz wore a black midi dress. She wore her hair loose and accessorized with sunglasses, black slingback heels, and a Chanel flap bag. Bardem wore navy trousers, sneakers, and a bright blue button-down top. As they posed for photos, you could clearly see their wedding rings.
GettyCruz and Bardem met on the set of the Spanish film “Jamón Jamón” in 1992, but their relationship only turned romantic after meeting again on the set of the 2007 film, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
Bardem reflected on how their relationship began in a May 2017 interview with GQ. “Neither of us would make the first move. I don’t know if we were shy or trying to be too professional,” he said. “Anyway, it got to the very last day of filming, and nothing had happened. So I thought, ‘We better get drunk!’ Luckily, a friend of ours threw a wrap party and, well, the rest is history. Thank god!”
GettyPenélope Cruz & Javier Bardem’s Relationship Timeline
GettyThe couple is incredibly private, choosing to keep their relationship out of the limelight despite their high-profile careers. They secretly married in 2010 and are parents to two children, Luna and Leo, who they raise in Barcelona, Spain. Cruz has opened up about why it’s best not to discuss their relationship, telling Tatler in a June 2019 interview that it was “a really good decision for us, not to talk about our relationship. It would feel very strange to do it a different way. I just couldn’t do it.”
Bardem has also emphasized the importance of keeping their lives private and separating work from home. This is especially important for them because Cruz and Bardem have acted together onscreen several times. In addition to “Jamón Jamón” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” their onscreen appearances include “Everybody Knows,” “Loving Pablo,” “Mother!,” “Live Flesh,” and “The Counselor.”
“I think whatever you do in your daily life, whatever job you do…you’re lucky to have a job, first of all,” he told Entertainment Tonight in October 2018. “You bring it home. You have a bad day in your profession, you will go back home, and you will be touched or moved by how the day went for better or worse. It is the same for any actor, but the important thing is to know that there’s a division, clear division, between fiction and reality. In other words, we know that what is going on there is all fiction-related… There is nothing there that has anything to do with who we are as real people.”
