Inside Penelope Cruz's Friendship With Meryl Streep

At this point, no one can top the insurmountable achievements that Meryl Streep has accumulated throughout her career as an actor — that, of course, is the reason her co-stars refer to her as the GOAT (aka "The Greatest of All Time"). Streep certainly has no shortage of admirers among her Hollywood peers, but it might be fellow actor Penelope Cruz who holds the title of number one fan. 

With many accolades herself — including an Academy Award as well as a BAFTA for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," just to name a couple — Cruz's admiration for Streep is surprisingly as fangirlish as one could get. The "Ferrari" actor admitted to Deadline at the 2023 BAFTA Life in Pictures event that Streep is the one actor with whom she's desperate to collaborate most in the future. "I'm always begging my agents to take me to her set, just to bring her coffee or anything," she said, adding that Streep would definitely be at her celebrity dinner table, along with other accomplished people like 1950s icon and tragic figure Marilyn Monroe and writer Truman Capote. 

Cruz said she never dismisses an opportunity to approach Streep, her hero. "Every time I see her, I run to hug her," the "Vanilla Sky" star said. "And she's so patient because every time I act like this is the first time I do it."

Given Penelope Cruz's admiration of Meryl Streep, when the legendary actor mentioned the "Volver" star in a speech on stage at the 2023 Princess of Asturias Awards, Cruz couldn't believe it. "It was like she knows that I exist, you know?" Cruz said. While accepting the prestigious Spanish arts award, Streep shared some words of advice she was once given by Cruz. "You gotta live your life looking at yourself through someone else's point of view!" the "Sophie's Choice" actor said while impersonating Cruz (via Hola! USA). Cruz mentioned she watched the clip of the speech over 20 times just to prove to herself it was real.

The inspiration to pursue acting didn't magically materialize for Cruz. It was Streep whom she credits for the idea. "When I first started watching movies and I saw Meryl's work, that's when I became obsessed with acting," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2012. While Cruz hasn't yet fulfilled her dream of starring next to Streep on the big screen, she had one memorable moment with the three-time Oscar winner. Participating in a 2010 Paris Vogue cover shoot with Streep for the anti-AIDS charity (RED) was what Cruz describes as "the most interesting love scene I've ever done." She explained how she was made to sit topless on Streep as soon as she arrived on the set of the photoshoot. The black and white cover photo depicts Cruz draped over Streep, who is wearing a jacket. Cruz, wearing nothing, has "(RED)" drawn on the shoulder that is facing the camera. Now, the actor is looking for more than just a racy magazine photoshoot with her idol before she retires.

For more, check out this list of things you likely never knew about Penelope Cruz.