Throwback to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides—Penelope Cruz was busy slaying her role as Angelica. But there was one catch: the actress was pregnant. Cue her lookalike sister, Monica Cruz, swooping in as her body double for those sword-fighting, action-packed scenes.
Director Rob Marshall had to get creative when Penelope found out she was expecting her first child with husband Javier Bardem. Enter Mónica, a trained dancer with serious sword skills. “Monica came at the end to do some scenes,” Penelope revealed as per She Knows. “She’s a dancer and very good with a sword because she’s done a film herself.” Talk about sister goals!
Rob Marshall loved the dynamic. “Towards the end of the shoot, we asked Monica to help us out for some shots,” he shared. “The whole family got to work on the movie.” And it wasn’t just wide shots—Monica’s uncanny resemblance to her older sister made her the perfect stand-in for those intense action sequences.
Penelope Cruz, then 37, had taken over from Keira Knightley in the blockbuster franchise’s 4th installment. Even before finishing the script, she said yes to the project. That’s how pumped she was to work alongside Johnny Depp. But as pregnancy brought its own challenges, Mónica, just three years her junior, stepped up to keep the action rolling.
The sisters have always been close. Growing up in a suburb of Madrid, they danced, acted, and designed together. “Penelope was always the clown—acting, singing, fooling around,” Mónica once shared. And Penelope Cruz? She called their bond unbreakable, even saying in an interview that sometimes she couldn’t tell their faces apart in a mirror. (Twinsies, much?)
While Penelope built her Hollywood empire, Mónica carved her own path in Spain as an actress and dancer. The duo even collaborated outside the screen, designing collections for brands like Mango and Loewe. “We work very well together,” Penelope said. “With one look, we instantly know what the other is thinking.” Apparently, they borrow clothes just as seamlessly—when one’s in L.A., the other raids her wardrobe.
This wasn’t Mónica’s first brush with acting. The former ballerina had starred in Un Paso Adelante and The Final Inquiry. But stepping into Penelope’s boots in Pirates added an unforgettable twist to her resume.
After filming wrapped, Penelope Cruz welcomed her first child, Leo, in January 2011. She called motherhood a “revolutionary experience,” telling Vogue, “From the first second, you feel so much love. It transforms you completely.” Meanwhile, Mónica continued balancing acting and her love for dance, later becoming a mom herself via artificial insemination.
This sister tag team wasn’t just a win for Pirates fans—it proved that family can truly make movie magic. Whether on set or in life, the Cruz sisters remain each other’s ultimate doubles.
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