Penélope Cruz revealed that she suffered from several brain aneurysm “scares” in recent years.
“I have had many scares like that,” The Invite actress, 52, said in an interview Net-a-Porter published on Monday, July 6. “Fortunately, I’m fine, it was a false alarm.”
Cruz, who shares son Leo, 15, and daughter, Luna, 12, with husband Javier Bardem, explained that the health issues inspired her to make sure she was on the right path for her well-being.
“I worry about staying healthy, taking care of myself,” she explained. “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I really don’t party. Without health, we have nothing. You talk about real equality? Why don’t we start with health?”
Cruz added that women’s health issues don’t get as much research compared to men’s ailments.
“It’s shocking that over decades, we’ve stuck to the same information about how women’s bodies work,” she told the outlet. “Look at funding for investigation into any illness that affects only women — we don’t get even half the investment. It is a level of control or suppression.”
Earlier this year, Cruz publicly spoke about experiencing brain aneurysm symptoms while filming The Black Ball. During the film’s premiere at Cannes in May, the actress, who plays a cabaret performer in the Spanish film, revealed that a doctor told her about the health issue before one of her night shoot sequences.
“We’re about to go out, I was putting on my wig, and they said, ‘Oh, apparently you have some brain aneurysm,’” she recalled of the instance at the film’s festival screening, per Variety. “I thought I was about to die. This is something that was totally surreal in my life.”
Cruz explained she took the rest of the evening off and was medically cleared by a doctor to continue the production.
“I thought, ‘It’s a total miracle,’” she reflected. “I have to, I must have this in me.”
The actress added that the health scare also made her performance and connection to the film’s crew stronger.
“You experience these things together, yet despite all this, despite the hardship, you can move forward in life,” she said.
The Black Ball is a queer drama that spans nearly a decade of Spanish history. It is based on the unfinished work of the same name by Federico García Lorca. In addition to Cruz, the film adaptation stars Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas and Glenn Close.
Following its premiere at Cannes, The Black Ball earned a 16-minute standing ovation.
